2025, Adrenalizing Media

Not you, not me, and not anyone on this planet will ever be able to listen to the amount of music available at any given moment in time. As such, we pick and choose our favorites, preoccupied with genre splitting and, occasionally, will latch onto something brand new just because. To many, at least on this side of the pond, the name TOMMY BOLAN might be a new one. Quick history lesson: BOLAN played guitar on the classic 1987 album Triumph and Agony by DORO. Yes, I was young then, too, and some of you weren’t born yet. The point is that the aforementioned album continues to shred, BOLAN continues in a live capacity and has now released the first album under the N.Y.C. banner. With a name like that, it better be large and in charge.

Damn, this thing is loud. Not loud as loudness wars, just plain loud. Wasting no time at all, lead track “Heavy As Hell” is true to its name, mid paced thrashing battering glory. The chorus swells with the power of the riff, compelling the composition forward. BOLAN’s guitar is, of course, front and centre here (and all over the album) as one would expect, the tone landing someplace between 80s NWOBM and the revival of more hair metal adjacent stylings we have seen crop up over the past 15 years or so. Also, climate plays a big role here – in North America this style of metal is not a well trodden path, anymore. Labels all over Europe will eat it up like candy (and so will the fans). North America will keep pretending to care about The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. That’s just a fact.

Being long in the tooth is not a bad thing, as N.Y.C. shows a sustained intensity that would rival bands half its collective age. The band, rounded out by Stet Howland (METAL CHURCH, W.A.S.P.) on drums and Steve Unger (METAL CHURCH) on bass, certainly know their lane on the road. The whoa-ohs in second track “Twisted” are fun and very on brand for the hardest of rock on display here. I am loving the drum production in particular, distinctly 80s metal inspired but without sounding gated. Compositionally, N.Y.C. is undoubtedly written to bring attention to the guitar and, perhaps as a consequence of that whether intended or not, lyrically there is not a lot of meat on the bone. What there is though, is BOLAN trying and largely succeeding in trying out different voices, even reaching so far as a high fry bordering on an almost death metal aggression. Unexpected, and refreshing quite frankly – it keeps the doldrums away for sure!

I might be crazy (please don’t run with that) but to me “Tired of Smiling” could fit anywhere on mid 90s MEGADETH and not be out of place. Something about that guitar lick just screams it, trust me.

“Let’s Roll (40 Brave)” has some of my favorite riffs on the whole affair. Mid tempo, 4 on the floor, there’s that high fry again, really just a great encapsulation of the inner clockwork of N.Y.C. “Central Park” is fine enough, but the standout of the whole album is the song “Fight.” I have no earthly idea why, but it makes me want to watch old Van Damme movies from the 80s. It has such a powerful and anthemic feel to it, with just the right amount of cheese that is so very perfect for traditional metal. Don’t sleep on it. And turn those speakers up for follow up “Full Tilt.”

Rounding out the modest run time of the album, the last few songs are regrettably hit and miss when compared to the first ¾ of songs found here. In particular I have to single out “Gasoline’, a semi power ballad adjacent number I want to like more than I do. Something about it strikes me as forced, like shoehorning in a love song on that 80s album you can’t quite remember the name of because everyone else has one, and they just sold a gazillion copies. I’m not saying it is bad from a composition standpoint – every song N.Y.C. has on offer here is meticulously crafted and amazingly engineered – just that it falls flat for me, personally.

Ending with the title track, Built to Destroy is a fine effort that, unfortunately, not enough people are going to hear. That is a symptom of the times and of the North American musical palette. And that’s a shame. Hopefully by occupying a small corner of the ever growing field of music reviews, new music, old music, and whatever else, I may be able to swing the pendulum in favor of these old hands with some new plans.

3.5 Out Of 5.0