Hondo's Revenge

Hondo's Revenge CD review...

Hondo's Revenge is an independent release by 4 talented, Buffalo NY, rock music veterans. Each member of the band plays out on the Buffalo music scene in one form or another and I will be highlighting the other bands the members are involved in as I do the review.
I must Thank Nick Notaro for expressing his interest in my blog and submitting Hondo's Revenge for reviewing purposes. Thank you Nick and Hondo's Revenge!

The CD kicks off with "Conviction", the guitar intro is metallic and heavy.
A wah-wah pedal lead guitar solo brings the lead vocals in. I am immediately reminded of Jive Injection when Jody Velletta starts singing. The last time I heard Jody's voice was in the early 90's.

(Jive Injection CD art pictured below)

...I am initially distracted away from the music for a moment and I drift back into some musical memories but the music draws me back in.
The guitar driven music is punchy and tight, the guitar could been brought up a bit more in the mix.

"Captain Obvious" is an interesting song title, the title comments on the lyrical content of the song.
The opening guitar is played in an 80's hard rock style. I am reminded of Van Halen, Poison and KISS.
The lyrics are straight ahead and simple, the message is clear and the vocals are delivered in an 80's style.
...as Andrew W.K. would say...She really is Beautiful!

The third track is the best yet. "The Wild Mouse" reminds me of the old Crystal Beach roller coaster.

(Below is a photo of the old Crystal Beach Wild Mouse roller coaster with The Comet in the background)

This instrumental track is great and all of the solo performances are high energy and played with 80's flash, flair and urgency. This is my favorite track on the CD so far. The tempo is quick and the rhythm is solid, just right for a ripping guitar solo. Tim Unger absolutely tears it up on his guitar solos with quick pull offs, high note bends and fret-board taps.

The spotlight then turns to drummer Nick Notaro who bangs out a great, quick solo on the drums.

Joe Barush then takes a quick and sweet solo on the bass...which is barely audible in the mix, turn the bass up!

"Shoot The Label" once again features Jody Veletta on vocals. Jody's latest musical project is the original band DoDriver.
http://www.dodriver.com/home.cfm

The lyrics are for anti-music labeling or categorizing, which I agree with 100%. Music labels or categories are really just put on bands as a selling point by the music industry. Bands just don't play music, they play "Heavy Metal", "New Country" or "Classic Rock". The lyrics advocate listening to music you prefer to listen to, no matter what category or box the band has been placed in by someone else. Once again Nick and Joe take turns on a solo flight, but the bass is inaudible. I love a bass solo but it needs to be heard to be fully appreciated.

"Equinox" is a guitar-driven, rock instrumental that features Tim Unger on guitar.
Tim has been gigging frequently with the band eXit! for the last few years.

The guitar intro sets a slow, steady tempo. Ever so slowly, melodic and quick guitar solos slowly bring the tempo of instrumental up into a full-out rock jam. The punchy and solid bass punches through the mix on this song with some excellent fills and runs. The tempo rises up and falls a couple of times throughout on this rock jam. "Equinox" is my second favorite track on "Hondo's Revenge." Great jams!

"23 years" is a mid-tempo rocker with an easy flowing feel and classic rock sound.

Next up is a cool up-tempo guitar-rock instrumental called "Freakin' A". The song begins with a cool drum intro played by Nick Notaro. Nick's current musical project is called Blind Date.

"Freakin' A" features Tim Unger on lead guitar solos for this rocker. The sound of the rhythm guitar and many of the solos reminded me of Molly Hatchet.

"Too Many Talkin' Heads" is the best song with Jody on vocals.

I don't rate any CDs I review on a point or star system but I would recommend Hondo's Revenge to any 80's or classic rock fan and once again, I'd like to thank Nick and the band for submitting the Hondo's Revenge CD for review. Thank You!
I must also mention that the CD mailer included a special bottle of chicken wing sauce. Now I don't know if Nick's Spider Venom Chicken Wing Sauce is a new business venture for Nick but 1 thing I do know is that it tastes great and it adds a nice kick to anything that I would put hot sauce on.