Time Signature My girlfriend's got a dick in the system...

Genre: hard rock

Having roamed the glam metal and hard rock scene on and off since the glam heyday of the 1980s, Bang Tango are back with another release in the form of the interestingly titled "Pistol Whipped in the Bible Belt".

Although the title indicates more socially and politically oriented affair, there is plenty of sleazy and raunchiness to go around in addition to the more socially conscious lyrics the pop up every now and then. Musically, this album is pretty much up and down and quite an uneven ride with tracks such as the heavy and groovy 'Suck It Up' and the funkalicious 'Bring on the World' as well as the boogie rocker 'Live Life' (ignoring the self-celebrating Ah-luv-me-some-Bang-Tango intro), while other tunes like 'Our Way', the cheese-rocker 'Boom Box Seance', and the ballad 'Have You Seen Her' as well as 'Drivin' are not the most compelling works of music. Other tracks, like hard rocking 'Dick in the System' and funk-meets-melodic-hard-rock-inspired 'I Like It' fall comfortably in the not-bad-but-not-amazing zone.

There are aspects of the album that fall flat, and unfortunately a handful of tracks come across quite weak in comparison to the good ones. To be fair, even some of the weaker tracks contain good elements, such as the boogie-based chorus of 'Boom Box Seance', which also features a nice bridge, and there are some nice riff-elements in 'Drivin'.

A bit of a disappointment in some respects, but still having some quality hard rock to offer, "Pistol Whipped in the Bible Belt" is, for my money, one of those albums that are not likely to be played from beginning to end on my stereo, as I will find myself skipping back and forth between the stronger tracks.

However, if you are a fan of uplifting rock 'n' roll with lots of recognizable and classic hard rock elements, you should not hesitate to give this album a listen.

Stephen BANG TANGO has always been a second-class band, some glam fans dig it, some others let it go like a flying kite. I kinda like the funky groove in it and they seemed a little bit heavier than EXTREME, but I much prefer EXTREME to them, and I never rated 'Dancin' On Coals' or 'Psycho Cafe' as high as 'Pornografitti II'. I think 'Pistol Whipped' tried to revive the glorious 1991 days and I'm pretty sure if anyone likes 'Dancin' that much, there's no reason to pass on this.

For me, this album is sort of a hit-and-miss, some great tracks here are 'Bring On The World', totally funk-ed up with a splendid chorus; 'Live Life' is an even better track; and 'Drivin' is more radio-friendly with a breezy sing-along chorus, but they also put up quite a few horrendous fillers such as the failed-attempt of AC/DC style, 'Our Way'; the ballad, 'Have You Seen Her', which blatantly ripped off 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door' on its verse and basically a generic track; and the title track is also quite bad.

The composition are mostly quite safe, good but not impressive, like 'Dick In The System' or 'Boom Box Seance', listenable but won't bite you hard like 'Bring On The World' or 'Live Life' did. The production is also good. A nice come-back but it's right in the middle line between 65%-70% although I think I might favor the upper rank with more spins sinking in.