There is no need to review who Steven Adler is, but it must be said that he drove the G N R music into the ground with his various versions of Adler’s Appetite, although it was always fun following the shenanigans going down when that band was on tour. I have to disclose that I am friends with Lonny Paul, who is the guitarist/songwriter in Adler, so take what you want from that.

The new blood that Lonny, bassist Johnny Martin and singer Jacob bring to the Adler group is what Steven Adler needed to remain relevant in these rock and roll times, and all these guys are real Rock N Roll survivors. I know Lonny has been waiting to bust out on a national and now international level for years, and the right stars aligned for him to show his talents ( and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy), and Johnny Martin has been kicking around with Chelsea Smiles and various TV and movie gigs, and Jacob has his Lynam group that tours around (the guy has signed some major label deals with major A & R players), but this is the release that will bring these guys the attention they deserve, and not because of Steven and Guns N Roses tunes, but because of songs like “Habit” and “Your Diamonds”.

The CD was recorded and produced by Jeff Pilson here in my backyard of Santa Clarita, Ca., and is a mix of classic rock and roll with contemporary and heavy sounding guitars and production accents, not your typical rock action. Overall the release has good vocals, good songwriting, good production, not what was expected from most, and my only complaint is that Johnny Martin was not able to add his Dee Dee Ramone punk rock bass to the songs, as Pilson played all the bass on Back From the Dead.

“Own Worst Enemy”, “Another Version Of The Truth” and “The One That You Hated”, all have great catchy vocals and chorus and “Good To Be Bad” has some cool horror movie guitar effects and solo from John 5 from R. Zombie/M. Manson. “Just Don’t Ask” is a nice acoustic ballad, but my jam on this CD is “Habit”, which was written by Lonny Paul, with it’s BOC “Godzilla” riff and cool effects guitars during the verses and the catchy ass chorus! The other favorite of the CD is “Your Diamonds”, which is a cool mid-tempo vibe, similar to Journey’s “Lights”. These guys have the look and the sound, and now the live show, as they are in Japan as I write this, and with a tour of the states and Europe coming in the next few months. Go see them live, I was lucky enough to catch their debut Los Angeles show with Steel Panther, and am glad to report that they sound even better live and in your face! /Teddy Heavens