Lizzy Borden ~ Appointment With Death

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Style: hard rock, glam, shock rock
Label: Metal Blade
Year: 2007
Home: Los Angeles

Members: Lizzy Borden ~ vocals
Marten Andersson ~ bass
Joey Scott ~ drums
Ira Black ~ guitar

Guests: George Lynch, Dave Meniketti, Corey Beaulieu, Jonas Hansson, Erik Rutan ~ guitars
Michael T. Ross ~ keyboards

Having heard every album by glam & shock rock’s great under-recognized singer-songwriter Lizzy Borden, I proudly declare this to be one of best in the discography! This latest release, after about half a decade working on other projects, is a more mature sounding Lizzy where the excess of glam is put away for a firm grip on the shock rock now of Lordi & Alice Cooper while retaining a continued emphasis on powerful lyrics. This is album features love songs laced with the theme of death, from love of self to love of others. Under a sheen of headbanging rhythms these are truly emotional songs & that emotion shines through. Lizzy’s vocals are no longer the typical 80’s falsetto but either due to age or changing music, or a little of both, are now a dynamic mix of highs & lows that at times sound like an ethereal being come to earth bringing great wisdom, particularly when he harkens "I’m on the outside breaking free." Musically this is the same L.A. hard rock onslaught that has always been the trademark Borden sound but if this isn’t their hardest album it feels like it, where every song has a distinct drive. Two tracks have already been released as videos & I hope that is just a beginning because I can’t stop listening to this album & have already shared it with friends. Highly recommended & make sure to look for them on tour where they costume themselves as death. Features the guitar work of vegan guitarist Ira Black, whose since left the band, along with a guest roster of members from Dokken, Lynch Mob, Y&T, Trivium & Morbid Angel.

(originally written for the Roman Midnight Music newsletter: Issue 1, Summer 2009, expanded for blog)

CONCERT REVIEW: The Fillmore at Irving Plaza, NYC, Dec 2008. Saw them from the front row at the end of their Appointment With Death U.S. tour, opening for Finland's demon exports Lordi. I had no idea who they were but it was love at first blood. They came out dressed as skeletons in a high energy show. At one point Lizzy came into the audience with a bloody axe, leaning right above me, with the girl next to me trying to prevent fake blood from going into her beer. A mesmerizing show of old-fashioned shock rock theater. They made an instant die-hard fan & I await their return. Lordi, who I went for having discovered them in Finland before their international break, sadly paled in the comparison.