AUG
Be Careful What You Wish For…
(ARRT RECORDS, LLC)
Overdriven power chords and fine harmony vocals inform the title track opener of AUG’s new Be Careful What You Wish For... The absolutely infectious, poppin’ “Little Green Fairy†follows, showcasing Rich Tanis’ bass (complete with a solo mid-center) and this New Jersey quartet’s ability to roll through a blisteringly fast rock tune.
We get Tanis and Russ LaMater’s drums growling under Tommy Shauger’s flicking and wailing lead guitar opening on “Light of Day,†a heavy tune with quite the singable chorus in a Night Ranger-ish vein (and that’s not a bad thing at all).We even get some bleeding key lead here with LaMater pounding his toms before another fine lead from Shauger.
We’re in the most Ozzy territory so far (AUG doing a spot-on sound-alike) on the super heavy “The Devil’s Rejects.†Keys undulate through the beginning of “Forever/Goodbye,†then we open into a cowbell-led big rocker, again with great singable choruses. But for me, it’s the band’s cover of Toto’s “Africa,†again showcasing LaMater and Tanis, that stops the show! AUG uses his range perfectly turning this M.O.R. mega-hit upside down, complete with soaring background Toto-like vocals. This is worth the price of the album alone.
AUG has been the host band for VH1’s That Metal Show‘s Christmas Party three years in a row, opened for Joe Lynn Turner, Faster Pussycat, LA Guns, Great White, and headlined “Derby Ink Festival” in April 2013. They are on tour throughout the world in 2014. Details of the tour can be found here. (And I suggest you find them.)
