TRUTH OF FRICTION
Truth Of Friction
Lion Music
When is a guitar album not a guitar album? When it features vocals!! And baby this sucker mixes the best of both worlds.
Truth Of Friction is the brainchild of guitarist Eric Sands who has in the past shared the stage with the likes of Steve Vai through to Neil Zaza etc.
Eric could so easily have made an instrumental album, but credit to the man for opting to take his music out to a wider audience.
Fans of bands like Cry Of Love, Mr.Big, Dan Reed Network, Mind Funk, Electric Boys, Living Colour etc will love this CD.
It's filled with great songs like ''Spread A Little Love' (Mr.Big meets Lenny Kravitz), the pumping 'Everywhere I Go', the funky 'House Of Strange', the fast grooving 'Highway', the blusey hard rock of 'Ride Ya' through to 'Spinning Sky', 'I Believe', 'Y.O.U' and your left with a hugely satisfying impression as each song shows diversity, thus the album never gets boring for a single second.
If Mr.Big's Eric Martin is looking for for the perfect touring partner for his US solo tour then he should give Truth Of Friction a shot should he ride into their hometown as each band would compliment each other very well.
A truly great CD, you know the words, buy or die.
RATING : - 8.5/10
Nicky Baldrian

Truth of Fiction - Truth of Fiction
April 2002 | Released: 2002, Lion Music | Rating: 5.0/5 | Reviewer: Keith McDonald

It seems itıs come a time where the music industry has become very stale. It happens every few years when a certain genre of music is milked to the bone. It happened in the late 80ıs and early 90ıs with commercial rock and now is beginning to happen with the rap/metal genre as well. It usually changes for the better when a band comes along that just turns everybody upside down with their music. When this CD came across my desk I really didnıt run to my CD player to hear it, I figured Iıd get around to it sooner or later. Iım glad I did. This disc is chuck full of well written melodic rock tracks. But it goes beyond that. This isnıt just another hop-on-the-bandwagon band that wants to make sure their songs get played on the radio. This is a band that follows their heart and writes great songs.

The album is strong and consistent all the way through, a rarity these days. You can hear and feel the polished songwriting talents of guitarist Eric Sands and singer Bennard Slaton. Spread A Little Love opens the album and gets the ball rolling. Itıs the closet thing to a ballad on this record. You is the most commercially written song with its powerful chorus and strong harmonies. The CD carries on though with even better material. Spinning Sky is very well written as Live & Learn adds a little funk to the equation. Bennardıs vocals are reminiscent of a young Lenny Kravitz as showcased on tracks like Ride Ya and I Believe. He adds a soulful element that separates this band from the others out there today. The songs also range the spectrum of life experiences, giving meaning to their songs. They obviously donıt listen to the radio and write whatever seems to be happening at the moment, which is very refreshing in todayıs music climate. Everywhere I Go is about Bennardıs sonıs battle with Leukemia, White World/Black World touch on racial issues and House of Strange, the tale of a whore house. Nothing is left unturned. The lyrics are well thought out and at times challenge the listener as well as open their minds to whatıs going on out there.

The musicianship is top notch. You can hear the influences of Vai, Sykes and Zakk Wylde in Ericıs guitar playing and the bombastic rhythm section provides the needed backbone for Bennardıs sweet vocals. The overall package is great. Thereıs the much-needed energy that seems to be lacking in todayıs bands. Instead of turntables and mixing beats and samples like every other band out there, Truth of Fiction provide tasteful guitar playing that make good songs even better. It combines elements of Mr. Big, Living Colour and early Red Hot Chili Peppers. Do yourself a favor and pick up this CD, you wonıt regret it.

Truth Of Fiction - s/t
US rockers TRUTH OF FICTION offer us great, intense & dirty US typed rock which doesn't fit into any clichees at all. The band integrates elements from such diverse artists such as HENDRIX, EXTREME, KINGS X, SANTANA, LENNY KRAVITZ & SATRIANI into their sound without sounding completely like one of those at all. The production is very powerful and offers no weak moments so that any fan of classic hard rock, latin stuff, funky & souly music or even blues should really dig this outstanding melting pot of various music genres. Great!


Birgitt Schwanke
Rock It! - Germany's leading AOR, HARD ROCK & METAL Magazine
www.rock-it-magazine.de
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