The Aristocrats are back with a brand new CD entitled “Culture Clash”. Just like their first endeavor, this new full-length album features outstanding musicianship as well as catchy tunes but the true charm lies within their idiosyncratic take on various musical clichés.

Indeed, true to their album title, the band juxtaposes many dissimilar musical elements to form their songs thus creating a sort of clash within each piece. This time around, the genre-defying trio delivers more intense, progressive and aggressive compositions that showcase their panoply of influences. While “Dance of the Aristocrats”, the opening track of the album, is akin to a techno-fusion song with an up-beat drum and a highly unnatural and electronic synth sounding bass, “Living the Dream” is a raw, visceral heavy-metal onslaught reminiscent of Mr. Bungle but with Black Sabbath-like down tempo moments. The songs are also much faster than their previous album, showcasing Marco Minnemann’s speed and skill on the drums (one easily forgets that he toured with the extreme technical death-metal outfit Necrophagist) as well as Guthrie Govan’s refreshing new take on guitar melodies and solos. Bryan Beller’s bass work, though, is the secret ingredient that keeps everything glued together, consistent and driven in this crazy, all-over-the-place, anything-goes, and genre-defying kind of album. Be sure to check it! 4.5/5 Dragons

The Aristocrats Online: www.the-aristocrats-band.com & www.facebook.com/aristocratsband

– By Eddy Levitsky of the Band Hollow