Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 02:04 PM by Giorgos Tsekas
Genre: Hard Rock/Glam
Country: France
Label: Lost Realm Records
Year: 2017
The story of the band ACE starts in Cannes France with Mayfield (vocals), Paddy and Mickey (guitars), Angie (bass) and Lee Mons (drums) playing Hard rock glam metal in all area rock clubs for 2 years until they became the local reference. With the help of sound engineer Daniel Aprosio (former Karoline’s drummer) the band chose the best ten of their twenty written songs to record an album and finally signed a record deal with French label New Musidisc and Warner Publishing for a single ( ‘Holding On’) , an EP (‘Ballroom Blitz’) and a LP (‘Bad Boys’). ACE went through promotion nationwide and played many shows in France. But due to the language problem (French radios respect quotas of French language) despite the good public reaction to their work it was more than difficult for a band singing in English to achieve better acclaim. As Hair Metal style was rather trendy in Hollywood at the same time, Jack Douglas a famous American producer that have worked with Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, John Lennon, offered them a contract for a sophomore LP. Facing unwillingness of Musidisc ACE broke contract with their distributor, rejected also a proposal from a major label demanding exclusively French lyrics and decided to give a new turn on their career. ACE has only one ambitious goal: an international record deal with worldwide distribution. In order to fulfill their dream ACE left France and move to L.A. in 1988. The band plays in local clubs in Hollywood (Troubadour, Coconut Teaser…) and composed more than 30 new songs for a new album. They also record a promo demo for Dr. Dream Records and finally get a management. Unfortunately living a ‘sex, drugs, rock ‘n roll’ way of life was the main reason the band broke up in the end of 1988. Each member of the band continued his own musically way and sadly in 1997 Angie tragically died. To be really honest I don’t know if ACE decided wisely when they didn’t accept the contract that putted a lid on using only their native language. Possibly that deal would have made them superstars in France. Still I have to give them kudos for their loyalty on their music vision and their will to succeed in their own terms. ‘Bad Boys’ is not a hair metal album. It is a pure hard rocker, with 100% testosterone very close to the sound of Motley Crue’s legendary debut. And yes ACE would never been mentioned for their hedonistic lifestyles as the Crues but songs like ‘Sons of Pain’, ‘Born In The Night’ and ‘Violence And Passion’ have this ‘Too Fast For Love’ aura and the rock ‘n roll vibe. They also may bring you in mind the mythical Finnish band Hanoi Rocks. Unfortunately for a hard rock/glam band, the slow songs weren’t their strong cards as ‘Holding On’ -their ballad- is rather weak and too Poison-like to my ears. Nice tracks that could have been hit singles with better production and management the highlights: ‘Eat Me Love Me’, ‘Sons of Pain’, ‘Ballroom Blitz’ and ‘Violence And Passion’. Plus in this expanded edition you can find more 24 songs that means more than ninety minutes of music on a DCD. Featuring Ace’s debut album ‘Bad Boys’ with the hit song ‘Eat Me Love Me’ from the ‘Holding On’ 7″ single, live songs from the reunion concert and also several songs from demo recordings prior to the album. Substantial !!!
4/6
