Out Now
Words by Greg Walker
Mick Mars. Bob Alan Deal. B.A.D. by name, bad by nature. The name is synonymous with 80s Hollywood glam rock flagbearers Mötley Crüe, with Mick’s sound such a dominant factor in the formation of my heavy music tastes, a staple that remains to this very day. His bluesy grit on the early Mötley Crüe albums, especially Girls, Girls, Girls, is still such a joy to digest, and in my opinion, still sounds off the rails dangerous. Despite those albums up to Dr. Feelgood each having a different overall sound, Mick Mars was distinctive on each.
Mick and Mötley Crüe will forever be intrinsically linked no matter what he releases, so why not come up with material HE wants to deliver? Herein lies the mindset behind The Other Side Of Mars, Mick’s first solo album, quite literally a side of his writing and performances he’s not exposed before.
The pre-release singles were met with fan commentary saying the sound is too modern with not enough of that Mars crunch, but as the man himself said, why wouldn’t he want to try something different, something out of the box that isn’t typically Mick Mars of Mötley Crüe? And thankfully that’s what he’s attempted with gusto and succeeded convincingly.
Bursting into his solo jaunt with Loyal To The Lie, we’re instantly struck by the embracing production that enjoys an incredible depth and clarity. The opening track is not immediately identifiable as Mick Mars, however the all-too-brief solo is unmistakable, his throwback tone cutting through the modern sound of the rest of the track.
The classic Mick Mars style is more apparent elsewhere, swaggering with enormous raunch on Broken On The Inside, but mostly this album demonstrates aspects of Mick’s tastes we’re not as familiar with. Ready To Roll’s main riff is a monster, coupled with a Corey Taylor-esque dirty bluesy vibe in the chorus vocal delivery. Undone also demonstrates more than a passing resemblance to Corey Taylor in places, nicely accompanying a big riff punch.
On Right Side Of Wrong Mick has a real 90s feel, a slight Alice In Chains vibe to the whole thing especially when the verse vocals kick in, and Ain’t Going Back is also a bastard child of the 90s, another Alice In Chains type rocker.
A standout track is Killing Breed simply for the fact it’s unlike any of the other songs, the keyboards bringing an ominous dark brooding heavy feel to it not unlike My Dying Bride or similar, weird call, but you’ll hear it if you’re familiar. Killing Breed also boasts possibly the best guitar solo on the album. But it’s not all big rock noise, early in the track listing Alone exhibits a textured tenderness, and Memories is almost entirely driven by a gorgeous piano, delicate strings colouring in the auditory panorama.
Album closer LA Noir is an instrumental that could’ve been the soundtrack to a 1980s sitcom based around the lives of four grimy rockers stumbling their way through the sleazy seamy 1980s Sunset Strip scene; not a far call considering Mick said he’s been sitting on the bones of LA Noir for 30 years and never found a home for it. Some tasty soloing from Mick throughout this last track, he tastefully unleashes a little, and more of this on a follow-up would be great.
What Mick has come up with on The Other Side Of Mars is a branching out from the limitations imposed by his former bandmates, and is easily a galaxy apart from any of the other side projects that came from those guys in the form of Sixx: A.M., Vince Neal solo, Tommyland, and the awfully awful Methods Of Mayhem.
Could The Other Side Of Mars have benefitted from some Kickstart My Heart crunch? Hell yeah, but then this wouldn’t be another side of Mick Mars, would it?
