Year : 1989 (Suncity Records Remastered 2007)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock , Glam Hard Rock
Country : Canada
Audio : 320 kbps + scans + Video
Size : 128 mb
Bio:
SLASH PUPPET is an award winning and internationally renowned Canadian hard rock and glam heavy metal band that made some great music before the advent of the the grunge invasion.Formed in Toronto, Ontario by Mif (vocals), Franklin Wyles (drums), Frank Bartoletti (guitar), Lou Garscadden (guitar) and Pete Dove (bass), Slash Puppet would play their debut show on Thursday, October 19, 1989 at Rock'N' Roll Heaven. In one short year they managed to win the Toronto Music Awards' "Best Club Act" and are quickly picked up by Rush's management and signed to a production deal with Sony/Anthem. The band released their first video, "Slow Down", to Much Music in mid-1991 which helped sell over 2500 copies of their independent demo. A year later they were in the studio recording a 6-song EP.During recording of the EP, Slash Puppet went through some changes by being released of their management/label contracts and bringing in new bassist Dave Carreiro. With a second video, "When The Whip Comes Down", on TV rotation to promote the new self-titled album the band also got a couple of songs included on the soundtrack to the Cannon Film movie Chain Of Command. After winning the "Best Independent Video" at the Los Angeles Area Music Awards the band replaced Garscadden with former Smashed Gladys and Succsexx axe slinger Marcel Lafleur and embarked on a short Canadian tour.In early 1995 the band returned home from another successful tour to finish out their final 5 shows in Toronto and southern Ontario with a bitter sweet taste as lead vocalist Mif sensing a musical climate change announces that he is leaving the band to pursue other interests including an acting career, due primarily to the grunge invasion and the subsequent decline of hard rock and heavy metal. A perennial fan favorite over the years, Slash Puppet's legacy would not only live on locally and nationally, but it would prove to endure internationally as well.In 2007 a re-issue of the band's critically acclaimed 1989 independent cassette only release "The Demo", entitled No Strings Attached was released through Sun City Records. No Strings Attached received accolades on several hard rock and heavy metal fanzines worldwide, making it to #7 on Sleaze Roxx's "Top 10 Best" releases of 2007.Currently, Slash Puppet is enjoying a resurgence of popularity as the re-emergence of hard rock and heavy metal has garnered them a cult like status among fans the world over. Their cd's sell for hundreds of dollars and have become highly sought after items as avid music collectors and fans alike continue to seek out the band and their music. So highly respected are their songs, they have become the standard by which other releases in there genre are measured in many online musical circles.
Album:
Slash Puppet were one of the biggest names of the burgeoning Toronto rock scene of the early 1990’s. Unfortunately, unlike their competition Sven Gali and I Mother Earth, they never got signed to a major label. They did, however, manage to sell out 2500 copies of their first recording, The Demo, an independent cassette, via mail order. They were the darlings of M.E.A.T Magazine and appeared on MuchMusic’s Power Hour. Slash Puppet signed a management deal with Ray Danniels and SRO (Rush) who later also handled Van Halen, King’s X, and Extreme.I was one of the 2500 people who ordered The Demo. Every mail order was accompanied by a glossy 8 1/2 x 11 autographed photo. I still have mine, this is especially treasured since their talented lead guitarist, Lou Garscadden, passed away in 2001. Today, lead vocalist Mif (originally billed as “Tony Terrance Dartanian”, for some weird reason) is a successful actor. That’s him as the mob boss in Norm McDonald’s hilarious Dirty Work, billed under his real name, Anthony J. Mifsud!Incredibly, for a band that never put out a major label release and split in 1994, Australia’s Sun City Records reissued The Demo on CD in 2007, as No Strings Attached. A well-assembled package, it features liner notes, lyrics, and loads of photos.This ass-kicker starts with a bang: “Slow Down”. This was the first video, and it even made a return appearance (in slightly remixed form) on the second Slash Puppet release, a self-titled EP. “Slow Down” is an infectious hard rocker, a tougher and faster Faster Pussycat with a way, way raspier singer. It has more integrity than most of the Sunset Strip of the time combined. And this was from the bad bad streets of Mississauga!The extremely catchy ‘Squeeze It In” follows, a mid-tempo groover, and my personal favourite song. This one just drips sleaze with a knack for gritty melody. Up next is “Hard On Love”. It’s another concoction of raspy lead vocals, catchy backing gang vocals, and pure sex. It’s twice as hard as anything Hollywood was producing at the time. “Bad Girls”, which closed side one of the original cassette, is about the only misstep. While the song is another adrenaline-filled sex romp, the chorus lacks punch.It’s here that I think the CD edition of No Strings Attached differs from The Demo. If memory serves correctly, side two began with “Overload” and closed with “Turn It On”. On the CD, the track order seems switched. Unfortunately, my original cassette copy is now lost.Regardless, “Turn It On” is fast paced, raspy and built for sex. It’s not an upper-echelon song, it’s more similar to “Bad Girls”, the chorus is a bit thin. The band compensates with the excellent “Evil Woman”. Great chorus, great hooks, and it sounds great in the car. It also has a cool dual guitar solo by Lou Garscadden and Frank “Bart” Bartoletti, proving these guys had the chops.The dark and slower-paced “Some Kind O’ Lady” provides some variety on an album that is otherwise very party-oriented. This killer tune was always one of my favourites. It has some killer soloing and a great riff. The verses kind of remind me of a Testament ballad like “Return To Serenity”, but before Testament even wrote that song. Maybe it’s the grit in Mif’s voice that reminds me of Chuck Billy.“Overload” closes the CD on an upbeat note. It has a fast, playful riff, sleazy lyrics and plenty of grit. It’s totally headbang-worthy. And with that, the CD ends, listener exhausted by half an hour of pure heavy glam rock!The production values for this album are not the greatest. Keep in mind this was originally a self-financed demo tape, never meant for wide release, and never intended for CD. The guitar solos are often buried, and the backing vocals sound a bit thin. What does come across is the grit of Mif, an underrated singer and frontman (by all contemporary accounts).As mentioned, Slash Puppet returned with an EP later (released by indi Fringe), amped up, better sounding and more mature without losing an ounce of their street-tough sensibilities. Look for a review of that ultra-rarity in a future edition of mikeladano.com!
Line Up:
Mif lead vocals
Pete Dove bass, backing vocals
Frank Bartoletti guitars, backing vocals
Lou Garscadden guitars, backing vocals
Franklin Wyles drums, percussion, backing vocals
Production:
Produced by Slash Puppet and Archy Hachey.
Re-mastered by Gregg Fulkerson and Chris Fatouros.
Tracklist:
01. Slow Down 03:45
02. Squeeze It In 04:23
03. Hard on Love 03:41
04. Bad Girls 03:03
05. Turn It On 03:29
06. Evil Woman 02:52
07. Some Kind o' Lady 04:06
08. Overload 03:31
+ Video "Slow Down" (Official Video)
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