Year : 1991 (Irond Records Edition 2005)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock
Country : Germany , United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 142 mb
Bio:
The German-American Hard Rock group EZ LIVIN‘ around mastermind and BONFIRE guitar player Hans Ziller returns with former ACCEPT singer David Reece on the mic!Founded in 1991, EZ LIVIN’ in the same year have sold 20.000 copies of their debut album “After The Fire” in Europe alone. After the release of the record, the band successfully went on the road as part of the Metal Hammer Roadshow together with Axel Rudi Pell, Casanova, Coracko and Domain.Now, in the year 2013, Hans Ziller has called some new colleagues to get the group going again. The guitarist added some familiar names to the line-up: Harry Reischmann, who’s known as drummer of Ziller’s other band BONFIRE, , Ronnie Parkes (Tango Down and Seven Witches) on Bass Guitar, Paul Morris (Rainbow) on Keyboards, Piano & Organ and none other than the aforementioned former ACCEPT front man David Reece (Bangaloire Choir) are completing this band which is playing melodic Hard Rock with a bluesy touch.With the new album Firestorm which will be released on 02.28.2014 and was produced & mixed by Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline etc.) EZ LIVIN‘ are ready to rock the European stages again in April 2014! The band will perform both old and new songs from it’s own catalogue but also offer the classic songs from BONFIRE, BANGALOIRE CHOIR, ACCEPT, RAINBOW – a tour not to miss!
Album:
EZ Livin' may have never made it past the debut album, but they released the best goddamn debut album they could muster.The short lifespan of the glam/hair metal scene had the inevitable effect of limiting the number of successful bands within the scene. And that is only logical, some say – after all, if even the big names couldn’t hold their appeal past the first couple of albums, why should the lesser-known bands have something to offer? The apologists of this train of thought will never have heard of great “single-album bands” such as Julliet and today’s subject, EZ Livin’.Now, theoretically, EZ had one thing going for them: they were not American. In fact, while the US scene was getting increasingly well-coiffed and made-up, European bands retained at least a modicum of heaviness and true rock’n’roll spirit. However, they also suffered from a lack of the same widespread distribution that US bands thrived on. On the edge of this double-edged sword walked EZ Livin’, a band which never made it past the debut album, but which released the best goddamn debut album they could muster.In fact, EZ’s sound is metalized hard rock of the highest quality. Opener Die for Rock hints at a full-on, melodic metal assault, in the 80’s sense of the expression. However, second track Body Talk dispels with such notions and takes a turn for the glamourized. The subsequent nine songs walk that line with gusto, never settling on either side, but always treading closer to the permed hairs and bandannas than to the denim jackets and spiked bracelets.The group’s influences are varied, yet easy to pin down. Taking a page from fellow countrymen Bullet, as well as frenchmen Fisc and swedes Europe, the group mix in abundant American references: Too Hot To Handle has large doses of Leppard, while Take Me could have been written by Bon Jovi or even very early Poison. Taste My Sweet Love even has a tapped lead ripped off AC/DC, and the two mandatory – and very good – power ballads sound rather Americanized as well. On other moments, such as the title track or the aforementioned Die For Rock, the group find their own personality, presenting catchy slabs of euro-hard-rock.Musically, there are few surprises, although the guitarist – Hans Ziller, later of Bonfire - clearly seems to have some chops and the drummer benefits from the good – and typically European – drum sound of the production. Peter Henrics’ voice has a tone similar to CJ Snare of Firehouse, Jon Bon Jovi or even Bret Michaels, although he attempts a few shriller screams that only the first of the three would dare to replicate. As for bassist Hermann Bauer, he is barely heard throughout, not disappointing when he does come through.But the main attraction here is the songwriting. Although it falters a little towards the end, a solid 80% of this record is comprised of fantastic hard rock riffs and hooks. The initial sequence is particularly strong, with Die for Rock, Body Talk, Too Late for Paradise, EZ Livin’, See The Tears and After The Fire constituting a real showcase of how to write good hard rock. Whether they’re ripping through the fast metal of Die for Rock or EZ Livin’ (a track which harks back to some of the drum patterns and vocal lines of the opener) or performing a solid mid-tempo in Body Talk or even attempting a syrupy ballad (See The Tears, a textbook example of vintage 80’s cheese), the group always come out with their reputation intact and their heads held well high. The title track, although somewhat less interesting in the verse section, brings the best chorus in the whole album, instantly skyrocketing to a standout position.And this is where the album’s (few and small) problems start. After After The Fire, the songwriting seems to take a dip in quality, with Taste My Sweet Love and the boring Rockin’ Into The Night – also known as Die For Rock Part 3, but failing to entice in the same way as the other two parts – not capturing our interest in the same way as what came before. However, to the songs’ credit, each have at least one motive for interest: the first has its snaking, pervading guitar lead and the second has the best solo on the album, an electrified classical-music ditty sure to leave any fan of shredding salivating. Fortunately, things don’t take long to return to normal, and Too Hot To Handle is another standout, an irresistible boogie that reminds us why we like cheesy 80’s hard rock. After Take Me has presented the absolute lowest the album has to offer, in a display of bland, listless hard rock, Hold On provides a decent closer, as well as the second power ballad.In short, this is a real gem of an 80’s hard rock album. If you belong to the “treasure troving” demographic, you must seek out this one; if you have even a passing affinity for 80’s hard’n’heavy, ditto. I’m only forfeiting the 4.5 rating because I rated Julliet’s single album as a 4.0, and the two are in the exact same level of quality and have the exact same amount of filler songs in relation to total tracks. But if I could, I would go change that album’s rating, just so justice could be made, because both it and After The Fire deserve a solid 4.5. Go listen to this album NOW.
Line-Up:
Peter Henrics - lead and backing vocals
Hans Ziller - electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals - See also: Bonfire, ex-Cacumen, ex-Ex, ex-Lessmann/Ziller
Hermann Brauer - bass, backing vocals
Jurgen "Bam Bam" Wiehler - drums, backing vocals - See also: ex-Bonfire, ex-Megaherz
+ guests:
Dominik Hülshorst - drums
Thomas Burlefinger - keyboards
Tommy Bloch - backing vocals
Dominik Hulshorst - drums
Production:
Recorded At – Redline Studios, Munich
Mixed At – Redline Studios, Munich
Produced At – Redline Studios, Munich
Mastered At – Bauer Studios Ludwigsburg
Engineer [Assistant] – Gerd (Mr. Drop) Liebhardt
Mastered By – Adrian v. Ripka
Producer, Mixed By, Recorded By – Hans Ziller, Louis (Mr. Dynamite)
Tracklist:
01. Die For Rock
02. Body Talk
03. Too Late For Paradise
04. EZ Livin'
05. See The Tears
06. After The Fire
07. Rockin' Into The Night
08. Taste My Sweet Love
09. Too Hot To Handle
10. Take Me
11. Hold On
12. Anytime (Demo) (Bonus Track)
13. Can't Stop Rockin' (Demo) (Bonus Track)
14. See The Tears (Demo) (Bonus Track)
15. Islands In The Sea (Demo) (Bonus Track)
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