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REVIEWS & INTERVIEWS
Posted: 2006-07-24
Review: The NAIL Online (Canada)
Writer: Marty Murray
Revolver - Turbulence
Back in the 80's when I was writing for Pulse Niagara, I remember doing a review or two of Slik Toxic's albums, and now that lead vocalist and songwriter Nick Walsh has moved onto his new project, Revolver, it seems to me that a lot of things really haven't changed. Not that I mean that in a bad way. Slik Toxic were an awesome hard rock band for their time, and really, does this sort of stuff ever go out of style? Nick Walsh is easily one of the best vocalists in this genre of music in Canada, and he hasn't lost one iota of his considerable chops in the intervening years. So, why should he try to change the thing that he does the best in order to fit the current trends? I'd rather listen to Revolver than any of the endless Blink 182 and Green Day clones out there making the bucks today. These guys actually rock, and they mean it!
The band has a number of things going for it. First of all they have Walsh up front, and then for an added bang for your buck you get Gene Scarpelli on guitar, the son of Goddo guitarist Gino Scarpelli. Gene plays with all the finesse and feeling of his dad, but unfortunately this style of music doesn't allow him to show us that quite as much as he could, but he still does an awesome job, as does the band's other guitar player, Sean "Crash" Kelly, who fronts his own fine band of the same name. And then there is Laurie-Ann Green, a Niagara Falls native, on bass. You can't go wrong with a sexy lady bass player. Just look at Sonic Youth, or White Zombie, or The Smashing Pumpkins. (On second thought, let's not go with that last one - Darcy looked too much like the anorexic crackhead that she really was) The band is solid and tight, and the songs are too. As much as they rock out finely on tracks like "Turbulence" and "Juggernaut," I think it's on the lighter melodic stuff like "Blue Sky" where their talents as songwriters and musicians really shine. This band has a lot in common in that department with the other revolver, the velvet one, and that's about the only thing that's unfortunate in their choice of a name, because they tread a lot of the same ground as their California counterparts, who also happen to have a great, charismatic lead singer and tend to write melodic but hard-rocking songs that just about blow all the competition out of the water. This Revolver is doing it in Canada, however, and I kind of doubt that they are going to self-destruct in the near future, so long may they rock! Visit their website at revolvertv.com.
My favorite album of 2005 would have to be Turbulence the debut album from canadian hard rockers Revolver. You see kiddies Revolver is fronted by Nick Walsh who in the early nineties fronted the juno award winning rock band Slik Toxik. Walsh posseses a vocal range, songwriting skill and talent level that most in the music biz can only dream of. Comparisons to Sebastian Bach (of Skid Row) dogged him early in his carreer but on this record he proves to be his own man. Then there is the issue of his band which undeniably
kicks ass.These guys (and gal) can really throw down! Add this all to the fact that songs like "Atomic Arcade", the power ballad and current single "Blue Sky " aswell as the title track are far better than anything else on rock radio today.That's right I said it. But don't take my word for it check the out on the web at www.revolvertv.com. Also Theory Of A Deadman deserves an honourable mention here for Gasoline which is a pretty solid record though truth be told it was a pretty lame year for music.
Posted: 2006-05-01
Review: Metal-Rules.com (International)
Writer: Lord of the Wasteland
Website: www.Metal-Rules.com
Rating: 4/5
Revolver - Turbulence
Fans of late 80s and early 90s metal may remember the Canadian band Slik Toxik who had a big hit in 1992 with the anti-drug song, “White Lies, Black Truth” from their DOIN’ THE NASTY album. The vocalist of Slik Toxik, Nick Walsh, dodged endless comparisons to Sebastian Bach and while they were not unfounded, the singer definitely had a set of pipes that equaled those of the Skid Row frontman. With the recession of metal in the early 90s, Slik Toxik broke up after releasing the largely-unnoticed IRRELEVANT in 1994 and little has been heard of the various band members since. Now, Walsh has re-emerged with a new band called Revolver that also features guitarist Sean Kelly of hard rockers, Crash Kelly. The band holds their own but with Walsh’s name attached to every songwriting credit, he is definitely the marquee personality and reason that people will take notice. TURBULENCE is Revolver’s first release and while all of the swagger and range still resides in Walsh’s voice (as well as the Bach-isms), this is no nostalgia act or throwback to the hair metal era. TURBULENCE is a surprisingly heavy slice of metal/hard rock with enough modern touches to keep things fresh. Memorable choruses and melodies are everywhere but a strong guitar presence keeps things heavy. Fans of Walsh’s voice will be surprised to hear he can still belt ‘em out and that ten years’ absence never diminished his talent.
The title track gets things rolling with a punchy rhythm section and Walsh’s blues-y vocal is as smooth as ever in the chorus. The heavy groove of “Juggernaut” features a telling lyric—“While breaking new ground, can’t fake a new sound, so come with me”—that shows where Walsh’s head is at musically in 2005. In other words, we won’t be seeing him rapping or faking a new style to fit into the mainstream. Revolver is what is…take it or leave it! “Electric Machine” has hit written all over it and its psychedelic vibe is really infectious. Likewise, “Blue Sky” is a light, acoustic ballad with some power crunch in the choruses that could easily be a breakout hit. Kind of reminds me of Filter’s “Take A Picture” but with more melodic and less harsh vocals. “Dead Weight,” “Nosebleed” and “Jesus Wept” are heavy-hitters that possess biting lyrics (“I make Satan look like a blue-eyed baby boy”), thunderous riffs and plenty of headbanging moments.
Since Slik Toxik was a band I always felt came about three years too late for its own good, it’s nice to see that Nick Walsh (who hasn’t aged a day based on the photos in the CD booklet) has gotten back into music again and turned out such an excellent album. Besides the amateurish Photoshop-job on the cover, there really are no negative points to be found on TURBULENCE, nor is there a bad song in the bunch. All eleven tracks are straight-up, guitar-driven, hook-filled hard rock/metal with a tight band behind a classic voice. What more can you ask for?
Posted: 2005-12-18
Review: Underground Empire (Germany)
Writer: Stefan Glas
Website: www.underground-empire.com
REVøLVER - Turbulence
DRAKKAR RECORDS/SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Die Knarrenmänner und ihre Baßgranatin Laurie-Anne Green stammen aus Übersee und wurden vom ehemaligen SLIK TOXIK-Mucker Nick Walsh ins Leben gerufen. Und obgleich er talentierte Musiker um sich geschart hat, können REVØLVER leider nicht alle hindernden Dämme sprengen. Und so bleibt ihr leicht rotziger, dezent auf modern getrimmter Heavy Metal ein durchaus angenehmes Hörerlebnis, dessen Nachklang jedoch recht schnell verhallt sein dürfte.
Posted: 2005-11-27
Review: MEDAZZAROCK (Switzerland)
Writer: Ralph
Website: www.medazzarock.ch
Some could know Nick Walsh from SLIK TOXIK. His new baby is now called REVOLVER and what is to be heard on it, could be put best in the drawer named "rock music with a modern touch". The Opener TURBULENCE reminds e.g. of a mixture of MEGADETH and the ULTRAPHOBIC album from the L.A. rockers WARRANT. Thus quite hard material (including alternative parts) for the lovers of rock music. Also the current SKID ROW and VELVET REVOLVER flashes up in front of my mental eye. With no doubt, TURBULENCE have some highlights, so e.g. JUGGERNAUT, which changes between hard and ingenious melodic lines or also the midtempo track PANDORAS BOX. The album offers alternation and cool tracks, but where’s light, there’s also shadow - nevertheless fortunately these moments are to be found rather rare on TURBULENCE. Result: REVOLVER offer an interesting album, which justifies 8 points beside an extremely attractive female bass player. (Ralph)
Einige koennten Nick Walsh noch von SLIK TOXIK her kennen. REVOLVER ist nun sein neues Baby und was darauf zu hoeren ist, koennte man am besten in die Schublade „Rock-Musik mit modernem Anstrich“ stecken. Der Opener TURBULENCE erinnert z.B. an eine Mischung aus MEGADETH und dem ULTRAPHOBIC-Album der L.A.-Rocker WARRANT. Also durchaus harter Stoff fuer das Rockerherz inkl. einem leichten Alternative-Touch. Auch die aktuellen SKID ROW und VELVET REVOLVER tauchen zeitweise vor meinem geistigen Auge auf. TURBULENCE ist durchaus in der Lage, Lichtblicke zu offenbaren, so z.B. bei JUGGERNAUT, welches zwischen harten und genial-melodioesen Melodien wechselt oder auch dem zurueckhaltend rockenden PANDORAS BOX. Das Album bietet durchaus Abwechslung und kann gelegentlich durch tolle Songs auftrumpfen, doch gibt es leider auch Schatten in Form weniger gelungenen Songs – doch gluecklicherweise sind diese auf TURBULENCE eher selten zu finden. Fazit: REVOLVER bieten neben einer aeusserst attraktiven Bass-Playerin auch ein interessantes Album, das 8 Punkte durchaus rechtfertigt. (Ralph)
I've said it a thousand times and I'll say it a thousand more. Canada's offering in rock/metal is something more than qualitative, no matter the genre. I don't really know where the domestic production of bands stands, but their exportation is above average and that's what really counts.
Revølver is another fine example. Born from the ashes of Nick Walsh's Slik Toxik, Revølver are set to continue from where Slik Toxik stopped, but most of all make a name of their own. To achieve this Nick enlisted Laurie-Anne Green on the bass Sheldon Thomas on drums and Gene Scarpelli with Sean Kelly on the guitars. The quintet began working on their debut album "Turbulence" which was finally released in 2004 in Canada, and gained the band a European deal with Drakkar for an October European release.
Those of you familiar with Walsh's musical past can surely imagine what "Turbulence" is all about, but things are a little different here than Slik Toxik. The band follows a more or less "heavier" path that leads to classic, mid-tempo oriented, Hard Rock, with groovy guitars, trying to mix 80's sound with more modern melodies. The rhythm section is doing well, Walsh's vocal delivery is excellent and the production, handled by Mr. Walsh himself, is breathtaking. "Turbulence" appeals to all hard rockers, from Motley Crue to the modern Velvet Revolver.
The only problem at this point is that Revølver's music may sound a bit trite. Okay, I admit that songs like "Turbulence", "Pandoras Box", "Jesus Wept" and the American oriented, ballad-like, "Blue Sky" serve the genre pretty well, but someone who's following hard rock since the 80's won't be easily touched, unless he's "hunting" everything out there. If I were you, I would first pay a visit to Revølver's website and listen to some samples…From there you'll know what to do. As far as I'm concerned I give them a…
The ’80s was an odd decade, spewing out bands that never should have made it to the big time and did, while suffocating bands who had the talent but couldn’t get heard. One such band that should have been huge was Canada’s Slik Toxic, and the main reason they should have made it was because their singer was a true talent. That singer was Nick Walsh, and his new band Revolver is giving Walsh another chance to wallow in the limelight.
Walsh has been compared to Sebastian Bach, but those comparisons are more apropos a decade ago. Walsh still has the anger, the edge, but he shows off another side to his voice on this release, evidence that he continued honing his instrument through the years.
The CD begins with the title track, a churning, heavy song with Walsh literally snarling the lyrics. It’s not hair metal — it’s modern rock. The end of the song is a violent repetition of the line, “resuscitate, medicate, suffer, suffocate!” and you’ll be impressed with their initial offering.
“Juggernaut” is the same type of song, heavy, with drop tuned guitars, so “Pandora’s Box” is where they slow it down and change things up, while still keeping things hard. They lyrics are fun, with lines like, “you make me drunk, I get you high,” and it gives the guitarists Sean Kelly and Gene Scarpelli a chance to show off their talents instead of just grinding along. Revolver writes songs you want to hear.
Revolver really doesn’t have a bad song on this CD except the confusing Saliva-like “Dead Weight.” It’s almost rap in parts, and you’ll compare the, “Click click boom,” to Walsh yelling, “Boo, throw out the trash.” In this case, yes, please do.
Luckily, the soft “Blue Sky” is next, more than making up for the prior mistake. Really, you can’t say enough about Walsh as a singer, whether he’s screaming or crooning. It’s probably their most pop-friendly tune, and Walsh conveys a real sense of longing and wanting with his vocals, singing “I wish you’d believe in me … that would be something.”
The CD ends with the two best songs — “Walking” and “Jesus Wept.” The later song is their heaviest track, and also their headiest. Walsh again employs a sneer when he delivers, “I make Satan look like a blue-eyed baby boy.” Drummer Sheldon Thomas stands out more so than on the others tracks with machine-gun like drum fills. Walsh ends things with a throaty, evil scream.
Revolver, not to be confused with the sanitized Velvet Revolver, has made a CD you need to get your hands on. It’s nothing new to the genre, but it’s definitely something good.
Track listing: Turbulence 2. Juggernaut 3. Pandora’s Box 4. Electric Machine 5. Atomic Arcade 6. Gasoline 7. Dead Weight 8. Blue Sky 9. Nosebleed 10. Walking 11. Jesus Wept
Posted: 2005-11-27
Review: Les Acteurs de l'Ombre (France)
Writer: Jerem_
Website: www.lesacteursdelombre.com
"Turbulence" de Revolver est à conseiller aux nostalgiques des 90's et ce dès ce premier morceau éponyme d'où ressurgit le spectre grandiose d'Alice in chains au travers de riffs rock bien heavy tandis que la voix évoque plus volontiers le Skid Row de "Subhuman race" et son charismatique chanteur Sebastian Bach (sur "dead weight"). Mix étrange mais réussi entre heavy rock et grunge, Revolver fait indubitablement plaisir à écouter, nous replongeant direct 10 ans en arrière, quand le rock faisait rugir ses riffs sans artifices ni faux semblants, porteur d'un message volontairement désenchanté, sans le misérabilisme d'aujourd'hui, comme si le Néo n'avait jamais existé...Doté d'une production puissante et moderne, d'un batteur n'hésitant pas à la jouer Metal (une double bien sentie sur de bons gros riffs bien gras, ça le fait! ), la musique de Revolver ne sonne pas du tout passéiste et devrait cartonner outre-atlantique où ce genre de Big Rock a toujours la côte. Tout juste reprochera-t-on à ce disque une certaine linéarité dans le tempo le rendant moins intéressant sur la fin. Petite critique qui ne devrait toutefois pas gâcher son écoute pour peu que vous soyez au volant ou au saut du lit, moments privilégiés pour savourer ce "Turbulence", bonne giclée rock pleine d'énergie et d'entrain. A noter, la troublante ressemblance entre le tubesque "blue sky" et le hit de Filter "Take a picture"...On souhaite le même succés à Revolver!
Hard rock? Who plays hard rock any more? Well, up and coming Canadian act Revolver do, and they do it pretty damn well, and play it hard enough for metal fans to enjoy. If you're some kind of Kvlt Grim Black Metal head, you can stop reading right now, because this LP will not interest you in the slightest. (If I catch you whining in the forums, there'll be hell to pay.) Revolver are a slick modern hard rock group that have produced a little gem in their debut CD, Turbulence. Taking cues from modern hard rock/alternative metal masters Alice In Chains and Soundgarden or even modern rock act the Foo Fighters and blending it with riffs reminiscent of Dokken, Stryper or Bon Jovi, Revolver have managed to create something fresh and exciting in an otherwise stagnating genre.
The opener, Turbulence reminds one of an ultra melodic and riff-heavy Jerry Cantrell while vocalist Nick Walsh belts his pained lyrics in a Jovi-esque rasp with the tenor of Layne Staley that will get the 80's rock fans' toes tapping along with the 90's metalheads swaying back and forth.Of course, no hard rock CD could be complete without a ballad, and they've proceeded into that oft-charted territory brilliantly in the form of the track Pandora's Box. The bluesy Electric Machine evokes the spirit of the 70's and the lead guitar-heavy Dead Weight is a riff driven track abound with fantastic vocal lines and riffs. The musicianship is top notch; i'd rate the guitar on par with such heavyweights as Jerry Cantrell and even Slash on occasions. However, some of the mid paced tracks lose their edge quickly and detract from the album's momentum as a whole. That aside, Turbulence is a brilliant release worthy of many a spin. If you're a fan of hard rock add a couple more points to the score and treat yourself with something that is sure to delight.
Standout Tracks: Dead Weight, Turbulence, Juggernaut, Nosebleed
Out of the doorway the bullets rip to the sound of the beat.
Kick out your associations, whether you think of THE BEATLES or VELVET REVOLVER: here's a totally different beast with a totally different spin. The Canadian band came to be when Nick Walsh, a man behind SILK TOXIK, decided to channel his producer experience into another project. Cue REVOLVER, swirling and twirling your mind from the off, the hard-boiled title cut. The edge is jagged yet there's always a good tune lurking in the space between Walsh's urgent voice and the guitar wall, and the aural viscosity effect of this space feels fine. This steamroller takes on acidic stance in "Juggernaut" selling a ticket to the modern era to SABBATH-lovers: chariot of death or life-affirming kick in the shin? Surely, the latter, as the thick metal gleam allows a lot of space to breathe - get in the rockin' roll of "Atomic Arcade". Once it seems to become tedious, "Dead Weight" brings clean guitar lines to glide by and "Blue Sky" switches on the acoustic Americana mode. Twist after twist isn't so much a revolution but an evolution which can rocket the band to the top.
***1/3
Rock n Roll is about to experience a little 'Turbulence'
As the founding member of Ontario’s award winning hard rock band, “Slik Toxic,” Nick Walsh has spent his time and his money wisely. He took on an entrepreneurial project after Slik Toxic disbanded by partnering with an old friend to start Electric Machine Studios in Toronto. Here he lent his production talents to new-comers to the business and to musicians looking for a user-friendly place to turn their demos into dreams.
It wasn’t long before Nick got that inevitable urge to create again.
Harnessing his tenacious spirit, Nick set out to shake up the current state of rock n’ roll. After seeking and recruiting four talented and like-minded individuals, “Revolver” was born.
The band is prepared for take-off as old-school ideals lay just below the surface of Revolver’s latest Canadian and European release entitled, “Turbulence.” As the band gears up for a European tour scheduled for early ’06, Nick Walsh and I discussed a throng (not to be confused with thong) of topics, including the many things he has learned from being involved in the music industry since his early teens.
So, fasten your seat belts boys and girls, and hold on tight, we’ve headed for a Helluva…ooh, sorry I couldn’t resist…ha, ha
Enjoy the flight…
Hey Nick, love the new record! I think it’s great that there are still musicians out there who have the balls to create new music while still keeping a little of that 80’s magic alive, the sound and the image, regardless of the current trend.
Ya know what? That was a good time because that was a time when there was a bond with the musician and the fans. Now I find it’s a little different than that.
How long did it take you to complete the material for “Turbulence?”
The album itself took like 22 days, from start to finish, recorded and mixed. We have the fortunate fact that I’m a partner in a recording studio up here in Toronto. When there’s new songs to be developed or whatnot, we have the means to demo them and rehearse the crap out of ‘em.
How did you get involved with the studio, how did that come about?
Well, actually a friend of mine and myself, we’ve been buddies since we were fourteen/ fifteen, we’ve always been sort of the guys in our respective bands that have kind of spearheaded everything. He’s a songwriter and he used to take care of his band’s situation as far as recording or writing or whatever and so did I. At an early age we were rivals, but growing up we became really good friends. We always had the dream of having a place. Basically, it was just before Revolver, I had written some material and gone in the studio, somebody else’s studio, for six days and ended up paying like four grand. It was one of those situations where I said, “instead of giving somebody this kind of money for six days, just invest some money into putting something together for ourselves, so that we’d have a place to do want we wanna do.” But at the same time, I know how tough it is for musicians out there, so our motto at the studio is “a studio built by musicians for musicians.” Where people don’t have to worry about how intimidating the studio can be.
How did you go about handpicking the people that are in the band now? Did you purposely setout to get a chick in the band? How did it all come down?
After Slik Toxic I had formed a very short-lived project called “Raised on Mars.”
I had a chance to meet Laurie. Her band opened up for Raised on Mars a couple of times. I just thought she was a really cool chick and I thought she rocked and she was a good player. So, when I was putting this thing together…actually… even with Raised on Mars I tried to get her to jump ship from her paycheck, but that didn’t work out. But when I was putting this together, I happened to give her a call and the timing couldn’t have been better because her previous band had just broken up. So, it depends on how you look at it. Is it fortunate or unfortunate for her that her other band broke up? (Laughter)
What was the vibe like when all of the components came together, everybody was in the band, and the first time you guys jammed?
It was awesome! Because I had gone through a couple of guitar players for this project and it just never felt right. When I had the opportunity to start working with Gene Scarpelli and Sean Kelly, it just felt right. Like everybody was so cool, we’re all experienced musicians. We know the game. There’s no misconception, by anybody. Ya know, like, “we know what we’re doing” kinda thing. In the room together, the vibe is great. It’s always positive.
Excellent. What is your favorite song on the album?
My favorite song on the album, hmmm… that’s a really tough one. Um, it comes and goes I guess. Initially, when you write songs, whatever your most current, newest song is, is usually your favorite. Compiling them all and then actually seeing it as an album, I guess it’s just one of those things that it depends on what mood I’m in. Some days “Dead Weight” is my favorite. Some days “Walking” is my favorite. But I’d say, overall, I probably got about 5 favorites. Half of the album I really love. Half of the album I would’ve done things a little differently in hindsight, but people like it, so…
Okay, this next question I need to ask, but you don’t have to answer if you don’t want too. Is “Pandora’s Box” an autobiographical song?
Is it an autobio….HA, HA (shameful laughter ensues). Well, it’s one of those things that, ya know, in my experiences, with myself and other people, I’ve seen different situations go down. I don’t know if the word is really “inspirational,” but it was inspired by a few different things that I’ve seen go on around me.
Yeah, the song is very…well, it gets to ya. The first time I heard I went, “Whoa!”
I read you’re review just last week, I was blown away as to how detailed you scripted it out in your review. I was like, “Wow, somebody really gets it!”
Thanks, it is a great song. Okay, movin’ on… you started “Slik Toxic” at a young age. In fact, you were still in your teens. What were the pros and cons of being in that situation and having a successful band? What was the most important thing you learned from that experience?
Well I think one of things I don’t know if it’s actually something I learned, or something I experienced. Just people. It’s finding the right people. When I say that,I mean as far as your band members and the team that works with your band, such as management or labels and things like that. I also think it’s a good idea, generally, to keep an eye on your own affairs. When you’re very young and breaking into the business and you have a major label and major management behind you, they make you believe that everything just kinda comes and goes. You don’t know where your money is going, or what’s gonna come next. Like we (Slik Toxic) had signed with Capital records. We had this idea that this was a label that actually developed bands. A lot of bands that we had listened to had put out multiple records and ended up having a career. Whereas, I guess the timing wasn’t the right thing, because when we released our album it was just shortly thereafter that the whole pendulum had swung with music and grunge came in. All of the sudden, every label and their mother is looking to sign the next Nirvana. A lot of groups suffered from that. So I guess the main thing is to find people who are genuinely behind what you do. It’s so easy for someone to see dollar signs. But as far as the development of your career goes, you want someone who goes, “I don’t want to change you, in fact, the reason why I’m dealing with you is cause I like what you do. I like what you stand for and I like what you create.” That’s the biggest thing from being young to now.
Why do you think Canadian artists have a harder time breaking into the US market? It seems they never get the credit or respect they deserve in the States.
It’s funny, I sort of disagree with that. Because I live in Canada and I think our Country, for our own artists, is a lot harder to break than it is to break into the States. If you look at some of the top selling bands in the last 5-10 years, like there’s Nickelback on the charts, Theory of a Dead Man, Sum 41, Avril Lavinge. These are all Canadian artists that have relocated down there. It’s the same with the entertainment industry. Some of the top actors/actresses are from this country, like Jim Carey, Mike Meyers, the list is huge. But then for some strange reason, nobody here gives them the time of day, until they’ve broken somewhere else, especially the States. I dunno, it’s all who ya know, I think. It’s harder to make it from your own backyard than it is, like, if I moved to NY or L.A. I might have a better chance at breaking in the States, if only for the networking possibilities.
You have plans for a European tour coming up, right?
We are planning on doing on something there in the New Year because in the European market, in the springtime right through summer to fall, there’s rock fests going on all the time. I mean it’s funny, because in North America the big rock fests are either OzzFest or the Vans Warped Tour or something, but that’s just a regular occurrence in Europe. Like every weekend there’s some other huge rock or metal festival. Because a country can only be a two-hour drive to another country, ya have die-hards that go to all of these things.
They keep it alive out there for sure.
Oh yeah, big time.
Any plans to play around Buffalo or the East Coast?
I’d really like to, but we haven’t thought about that because what I’m currently in the middle of doing is finishing up new material and we’re planning on going into the studio in the New Year to record another record. Regardless if our record comes out in Canada, the States or Europe, we’re always gonna continue to be writing, recording and doing what we do. We gotta keep the momentum going.
Definitely! There’s been a bunch of great releases lately from LA Guns, Vain, Beautiful Creatures, Tesla.
Oh! Davy Vain…I used to love that record. There were like four songs I loved off that debut album. It just had that mix of glam rock meets a bit of punk and it was very emotional.
At this time in the interview, the actual “interviewing” portion of our conversation takes a hiatus as Nick & I wind up having a ten minute conversation about the bands I just mentioned, plus music in general and eventually on to the topic of “Saliva” (which Nick & I agree… kick ass!).
Saliva is band that, again, I don’t want to compare them to us, but it’s a band that has taken all the cool, old-school elements and brought them up to date. I think that’s kinda what Revolver is trying to do. We’re taking the best of the old and combining it with the new production and all that, trying to hook people in. Maybe that’s the biggest problem I find in the music lovers of today, the youngsters, they don’t know the roots of music. Meaning they can say, “I’m into punk rock,” (like Sum 41 or something). Okay, but have ya ever heard of the Ramones? Or the Dolls or even the Pistols or whatever? It’s the same with hard rock and metal. It’s like, “Go to the source! See who you’re heroes are influenced by, and why!”
Is there anything you’d still like to accomplish either musically or personally?
Well, musically I would just like to honestly be able to switch as many people on to my brand of rock n’ roll, and be able to make a decent living at it. Ya know, I’m not 18 dreaming of, “hey I gotta be at the Playboy mansion parties every Friday night.” I just wanna be able to do what I love to do the most in this world and do it well, have people enjoy it and not worry about where I’m gonna get my next meal from.
Okay I have to ask this too, Triumph or Rush?
Rush. It’s sort of one of those “you have no other choice” questions! I love Triumph too, but, for Canadians, Rush were really the pioneers. They really opened up a lot of doors for Canadian rock bands in the States and stuff. Ya know what else I find? I find that in the late 70’s, Canadian rock, it was so much easier to cross borders. Bands like April Wine, Rush, Triumph and Saga, for these bands it was so much easier to go down to the States to do festivals. Now it just seems so… political.
Any quote or parting words of wisdom from Nick Walsh to our Glam-Metal readers?
Just to keep your ears open and don’t close your eyes, because before you know it, you’ll be hearing of Revolver.
Cool! Good luck with the record and the tour! Hopefully, you can make it down this way soon.
Where abouts are you?
Right outside of Buffalo.
Tonawanda?
Yeah! How’d you know?
Just took a guess, I love saying that word, Tonawanda! (Laughter)
Once again, we break into a lengthy conversation where Nick is actually asking me a host of questions, mostly about locals clubs, street festivals and oddly enough how he recalls watching Irv Weinstein from Eyewitness News report on fires that “broke loose” in Tonawanda back in the day!
Nick was a great interview, and I could’ve talked with him all day. Revolver will be opening for George Lynch on December 5th, at the Reverb in Toronto. Be there, as I’m sure it’ll be one “Helluvatime!”
Turbulance Band Line-up: Nick Walsh –vocals/guitar, Laurie Anne Green-bass, Sheldon Thomas-drums, Gene Scarpelli & Sean “Crash” Kelly- guitars
Stand out tracks: “Juggernaut”, “Pandora’s Box” “Dead Weight” “Blue Sky”
You may recall a band from Ontario, Canada called Slik Toxic. Their 1992 gold release “Doin’ the Nasty” gave us “Helluvatime” and “White Lies, Black Truth,” and also took home a Juno award for “Hard Rock Album of the Year.”
Fast forward to 2004. Front man Nick Walsh, after working in the studio producing up n’ coming bands, got the rock n’ roll itch he just had to scratch. Hand-picking a group of musicians, he has put together a new project called “Revolver” that he feels the world is ready and waiting for, and I have a feeling he won’t be denied!
The opening tracks “Turbulance” and “Juggernaut” pull you in by the throat right from the get-go. Laurie Anne’s bass lines are thick and bludgeoning. I have all kinds of respect for chicks that can actually play and aren’t there for ornamental purposes only. Plus, she sites her influences as Joan Jett, Hole and Saliva, shit, how could I not dig this chick. Nick Walsh’s seductive vocals pour over “Pandora’s Box” which is a captivatingly dark song whose lyrics tell a tale of a man’s feelings of remorse and guilt over his infidelity with a woman who remains in relentless pursuit of him.
“Gasoline” and “Jesus Wept” deliver a rhythmic pummeling to the senses, as does “Dead Weight” which hosts a loose Saliva influence via a “Click, Click, Boom” kinda feel. “Blue Sky” is the acoustic-based ballad that states, “King of the road, you shit on my highway, out of control and hit a brick wall. I wish you’d believe in me, that would mean something, everything to me.”
“Walking” reflects a mellowed tinge of Alice in Chains similar in sound to Jerry Cantrell’s “Boggy Depot” album. “Nosebleed” is the heaviest track of the collection and the guitar work is simply killer on this one.
Over all, Revolver succeeds in reinventing some old-school melodic rock, and infusing it with a harder-edge modern sound. The result is a polished, guitar driven record with the added bonus of Walsh’s rich vocals. I’d like to see this band break into the mainstream and stir things up. They definitely possess the tenacity and talent to do so. Also, I hope to catch Revolver live in the near future. Stay tuned.
Rating out of 10: 7
Review by Tracey Longboat
Although I hate to be superficial, I can’t help mentioning the fact that Nick Walsh is still easy on the eyes and probably has the tightest Levi’s and most luscious blonde locks of any rockstar around these days. See for yourself at www.revolvertv.com .
Nick Walsh is primarily known for his work with Canadian rockers Slik Toxik, who scored success with singles such as Big Fuckin' Deal and White Lies, Black Truth. After disappearing for a few years he has returned with his new band Revolver and their debut album Turbulence is getting rave reviews around the world. Here Nick talks about the old days and the future of Revolver.
SR: You are currently promoting a new band called Revolver, how did the band come together?
NW: After being off of the stage and working from behind the scenes for awhile, it started to just naturally gnaw at me that I should be out there performing and rocking my bag off. I was working with a few younger bands from the producer's chair and it just started to fuel my fire. I was always writing songs, that never stopped but it was time to put a band of able musicians together and bring it to the public.
SR: Revolver's debut Turbulence seems to be getting great reviews, how pleased were you with the final product?
NW: I'm over the moon that after being out of the scene for this long that people are genuinely excited to be hearing something new from me. When working on music it's really hard to be complacent with what you do. I mean the fact that it was recorded at my studio; we could be in there still recording 'Turbulence' (the never ending album). Sometimes we are our own worse critics, but we just have to learn when to let go.
SR: Why was the European version released with different artwork?
NW: Basically that was a marketing decision with Drakkar, they know the market better over there and I think they saw the CD and the title to have a little bit of a darker connotation.
SR: How have sales of Turbulence been?
NW: For a debut independent it's been uphill. But you do know that in Canada without the help of a major label it's hard to get recognized. "Big place with hardly anyone in it". Europe seems to be looking promising.
SR: Is Sean Kelly still in the band? If so, does that mean Crash Kelly is on hiatus, or will he continue with both groups?
NW: Sean is and as far as I'm concerned will always be in this band in some capacity. Sean will always do his own thing as well. As musicians we all need to bring our creations to life somehow and if being in multiple projects is a way to do that then so be it. We have already encountered some live conflicts, but have equally resolved them by having a longtime friend Steve Skull fill the shoes for some dates and if that's how it has to be we can deal with it.
SR: Do you have any tours lined up for Revolver?
NW: We are currently doing some one off shows here in Canada, but are gearing up for the New Year in Europe.
SR: Do you worry that people won't give Revolver a fair shake due to Slik Toxik's involvement with the hair metal scene?
NW: It happens, but it happens by people who aren't even real fans of music. I mean if you judge something based solely on the past or a picture then as far as I'm concerned FUCK OFF! If you listen and then don't like it that's totally cool at least you made a fair judgment.
SR: Tell us how Slik Toxik was formed.
NW: That band was formed out of multiple projects that I had put together when I was in my teens. I had a band when I was very young that had Kevin Gale as a guitarist, and then he was replaced by Rob Bruce. At that time I was playing guitar and singing. I then decided to go frontman and Voila brought the 2 of them in together and the rest is History.
SR: Was it overwhelming to get so popular in Canada at such a young age?
NW: At the time I didn't think so, but looking back at it I guess it could have been. I honestly think it went to the heads of some of the other guys very intensely, so much that they still believe they are living it.
SR: In 1993 you won a Juno for Hard Rock Album of the Year. How satisfying was that, and where is the award stored?
NW: It was pretty cool to be there and get some notoriety, I hate to say it but I will: That award means more to the Canadian public then it does to our music industry, it's just an excuse for these corporations to have a good time, pat themselves on the back and use it all as a tax write off.
SR: Was it upsetting to lose at those same Juno's to the Skydiggers (whatever happened to them) for Most Promising Group of the Year?
NW: You said it in your question, that award has always been the 'bye bye' award.
SR: Speaking of the Juno's, what is the real story behind Pat Howarth and a limousine?
NW: The real story is that Pat was suffering with some mental stress, and was on medication and clearly should not have been indulging in alcohol, but obviously was. And decided he was going to go for a little joy ride, well you know the rest. I don't condone that kind of thing at all, but would like to say if that happened in the U.S. it would have been press that couldn't have been bought. Maybe the cover of Rolling Stone.
SR: Slik Toxik's last album Irrelevant was some of your darkest material. Was this a dark period for the band and could you sense that the hard rock phenomenon was over?
NW: Dark period? Definitely. We had already finished writing more than enough material for the follow up for Doin' The Nasty, but the record company as usual were looking ahead at the new trends and basically put us at square one, we were pissed. So we started writing again with a new take on things and also in a bit of a state of confusion. That's why the album is less consistent than Nasty.
SR: If there is unreleased Slik Toxik material, will there ever be a chnace of it being released?
NW: Only time will tell my friend, only time will tell.
SR: What finally led to the break-up of Slik Toxik?
NW: It was getting real tired, and the fact that we had been together since the younger years people started to change and evolve. Some for worse and some for the better.
SR: Did your view of record company politics sour when rock bands like Slik Toxik were tossed aside in the early 90s?
NW: Yeah a little bit, I think it was more about the fact that we thought we had people who believed in us for what we did and who would help us develop, not just treat us like the next trend. But that wasn't the case. Business is business.
SR: Some of Slik Toxik's albums are impossible to find, any plans to reissue them?
NW: Well, it's funny you should ask that. It was a thought a little while ago but as it stands right now EMI has the rights, and there is a lot of red tape to go through but I'm hoping eventually it'll become available again.
SR: It seems almost every hard rock band has reformed lately, do you think Slik Toxik will ever reunite for one more kick at the cat?
NW: I really don't think so, sorry to disappoint. However Revolver does play a couple of the old hits, so we can all relive those days through that.
SR: After Slik Toxik you formed Raised On Mars. Give us a little history of this band and was a CD ever released or do you plan on releasing a CD?
NW: That band was a very short lived project, and due to the climate of music and the typical bullshit that surrounds the industry we never made it out of the gate. However one song that survived that era was a song on 'Turbulence' called Jesus Wept.
SR: Here is a list of Canadian rock bands, what are your thoughts on each: - Succsexx
NW: Helped Slik Toxik get it's start on the Toronto club scene.
- I Mother Earth
NW: Old label mates.
- Slash Puppet
NW: Under rated, and should have made it.
- Von Groove
NW: Grew up with Mathew Gerrard.
- Harem Scarem
NW: Great musicians, and good guys.
- Helix
NW: Influenced me at an early age.
- Sven Gali
NW: Old touring mates.
- Killer Dwarfs
NW: Also helped Slik early on.
- Big House
NW: Were recording their album at the time, and in the same studio as Slik.
- Brighton Rock
NW: Gerry still rocks!
SR: You toured with Yngwie Malmsteen, was he as much of an ass as many people claim?
NW: He had his moments, but all in all it ended up being a great time.
SR: Do you ever look back on your career and wish you did things differently?
NW: Like everything in life, hindsight is always 20/20. But you have to look ahead, and take your past for what it was and embrace the good moments.
SR: As a partner of "Electric Machine Studios", what bands have you produced? How satisfying is producing others compared to creating your own music?
NW: Producing other bands and artists is a treat. You get to be an observer with an opinion and give new ideas for something that already exists. Doing your own stuff is a little more difficult because like I said earlier, you end up being your own worse critic.
SR: Do you think we will ever see hard rock become a major commercial force again?
NW: I think that hard rock is and will always be around, but not in the same way that it was. There are way too many new styles of doing music now that evolution is inevitable. There are a lot of bands doing the retro thing right now, but with a twist. That's what has always gone on and always will.
SR: What can we expect from you in the future?
NW: We will have a new album ready for the spring and are always trying to improve ways of getting the name out there. So as long as there are people who dig what we do, you can count on us to deliver the fix.
Posted: 2005-10-27
Review: All Access Magazine (California, USA)
Writer: The Atomic Chaser
Website: www.allaccessmagazine.com
TURBULENCE - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Canada's newest rock and roll machines, REVOLVER, step on the scene like a bully at the playground! The bands rocking debut "Turbulence" not only has heavy riffs, but terrific, melodic vocals and crunching guitar solos. The title track is getting the commercial attention, but "Blue Sky" is the track with the deepest message. I was blown away by the power and energy this band has. The world has been void of hard rock for too long. In the times of digital music this is a refreshing look back to when music was fun and the bands were almost dangerous. 'Turbulence' has an edge on it that only a few bands can manage in modern times. Nick Walsh's powerful vocals, the talent of, Laurie-Anne Green on bass, the dynamic guitar tandem of, Sean "Crash" Kelly and Jean Scarpelli on the guitars, and Sheldon Thomas's power on the drums. Each of these guys, and gal, add a layer to make each song crazed and kick major ass! Revolver serve up music that reaches every person in a new and different way. How many albums do you buy and end up getting a great song or two and the rest is just OK? You definitely don't have to worry about that with this one. Just one piece of advice. Listen to it LOUD! The driving rhythms of "Automic Arcade" just aren't the same unless you've pegged the volume. Other great tunes are "Electric Machine", "Juggernaut", and "Gasoline". If you like hard rock, rock in general, or just music than you MUST have, this is an essential album for the ages. The "GET YOUR ROCK OFF" light has been switch on, feel free to get your rocks on!
I'm not sure what Slik Toxik front-man Nick Walsh has been up to all these years, but he has finally resurfaced with a new perm and a new band named Revolver. He has surrounded himself with names such as Crash Kelly founder Sean Kelly and Gene Scarpelli, the son of Goddo's co-founder.
One of the songs starts off with the words "some people are afraid of changing", but no one can accuse Nick Walsh of such a thing. If you are expecting a return of Slik Toxik's Doin' The Nasty, think again. Turbulence has more in common with the dark heavy crunch of bands like Beautiful Creatures or even Slik Toxik's forgotten final album Irrelevant. There is lots of stop and start drumming and heavy bass-lines with few guitar solos here, but what sticks out is Nick Walsh himself and the harmony and melody in his voice. Even the song "Juggernaut", which leaves me cold, is damn near saved with a memorable chorus.
"Pandoras Box" is a song that works incredibly well. It sounds gloomy as it bounces from mid-paced to aggressive rocker and may be the best tune on Turbulence. "Atomic Arcade" and "Nosebleed" work due to the clashes between heaviness and harmony while "Dead Weight" could be considered a fist-in-the-air anthem.
The first single, "Blue Sky", has much the same vibe as "Pandoras Box" and is as close as this group gets to the classic Slik Toxik sound. Turbulence is one of those albums that takes a few listens to get into, as you discover new sounds with each spin. Nick Walsh sounds as good as ever (if not better) and there are few choruses that won't get lodged into your brain. Revolver is part of the new breed of metal without being 'nu' - the breed that still understands the importance of melody and the breed that hasn't totally turned their backs on the past.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with former front man Nick Walsh of SLIK TOXIK and discuss some of the latest news of his most recent project REVOLVER. There were a lot of questions answered regarding SLIK TOXIK’s break-up and the future of the new band. The show was kick ass and Nick and the band never missed a beat.
Hi Nick, great to see you back in the limelight once again.
Thanks.
You just mentioned to me prior to this interview that REVOLVER have signed on to a label in Germany.
Yeah, we just signed out of Germany with a label by the name of Drakkar. BMG is the Distributor. Seem like a really good label. They’re the label that started off Nightwish and they got a few other heavy bands, some really good talent on the label. So the album comes out in October 24th in Germany with the rest of Europe to follow. The deal was all of Europe including the U.K. and they’re also soliciting for a Japanese release for us.
I did a little bit of research on the band and the name REVOLVER came about from one of the world’s most famous bands.
Yeah. THE BEATLES.
Big fan of the band personally?
Yeah, my father’s from Liverpool. And you know how some people grow up listening to country music, some people grow up listening to Elvis, I grew up listening to THE BEATLES. So it wasn’t really until, I guess, around the time of SLIK TOXIK when I was like in my early twenties that I really started to get back into THE BEATLES. It’s one of those things when you’re growing up you’re finding your own kind of music. Like I was into MAIDEN and KISS, AEROSMITH all that stuff and my dad was always listening to THE BEATLES. So you don’t listen to what you’re parents are listening to. However, you know when you become a certain age I guess and certain kinds of music start growing on you, you realize oh my god I know every song and it’s actually a part of me. You know. Yeah, it was kind of like, I was writing some songs previous to the project getting together that had a little bit of like THE BEATLES meets Metal feel to it. And like we’re not doing any of those songs anymore…But, that’s kind of what, what the name was from. It was kind of like well let’s think of some cool BEATLES titles and so forth and what would suit what we’re doing and REVOLVER happened to be the one.
Immediately I thought about “Revolution”, like the song and then I was talking to a couple of guys at work that are BEATLES fans and they said no, no, there’s an album called “Revolver”. And I thought cool but immediately another band name came to mind.
VELVET REVOLVER.
I read a quote that said you know THE WHO didn’t change their name when the GUESS WHO came around…
Yeah, exactly. But I mean, RUSH, MAHOGANY RUSH, VELVET UNDERGROUND, VELVET REVOLVER, like I could go on for days.
You can’t go ahead and think that there’s going to be any bad publicity practically sharing a name with one of today’s super groups. I mean there’s REVOLVER, there’s VELVET REVOLVER you know. Hey there’s nothing wrong with being compared to a line up of that musical calibre.
Sure.
Any comments on VELVET REVOLVER, are they a super band?
Well I’ll tell you what man, when “Appetite For Destruction” came out, it changed my life. Sure, absolutely. When “Appetite” came out it was like this is something new, this is something that isn’t one of those sort of palatable Rock bands. This is dangerous. This is what rock n roll is supposed to be. So yeah, as far as the VELVET REVOLVER band goes I mean Slash, Duff, Matt Sorum and that song it’s incredible.
There was a comment Strutter magazine that said REVOLVER is a band that’s much better than the BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION and VELVET REVOLVER. Much better than what they’re doing in the States right now. How do you feel about a comment like that? Being compared to those guys.
Well to be honest with you any critic is allowed to state their opinion cause that’s their job. I don’t really know a lot about the BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION. I’m a huge MÖTLEY CRÜE and Nikki Sixx fan. And I’m sure that with Nikki involved the BRIDES are probably a great band. As well you know Tracy Guns you know was into LA GUNS back in the day.
BRIDES is a very cool project. Kind of a heavier Punk style.
Yeah. I don’t know the material so I can’t really comment on them.
However VELVET REVOLVER is awesome. I heard the first song “Slither” and I thought it was amazing.
That’s cool yeah.
The BRIDES though, if you get a chance, check it out. I thought it was a little bit weird for Nikki to take his side project, which was doing so well for a while and just all of sudden stop and go back with CRÜE.
Well, you know CRÜE is the CRÜE. I mean without the CRÜE there wouldn’t be a lot of other bands out there.
So back to THE BEATLES. Obviously one of the most influential tracks has to be “Revolution”. What are your other favourite BEATLES songs?
You know what? Believe it or not I like, I like a lot of that later BEATLES stuff where they’re dark and they do like “Eleanor Rigby” and obviously “Revolution”, “I Am the Walrus”. I just love the contrast between the Paul McCartney, John Lennon stuff.
Back to your music. Songs like “Electric Machine”, “Atomic Arcade”, “Gasoline” and “Blue Sky”; this is music that seems to be right back in the eighties. Is it something you were kind of trying to capture with those songs?
Actually, not really, “Atomic” kind of, as far as the lyrical content goes. That song’s basically about trying to bring back something that has been sort of a void for a long time. I mean there’s been pop divas and lip synching and you know the grunge era killed everything we were all doing back then. And you know it’s amazing how you know people would pay at that time whatever, let’s say twenty five bucks to see a band and there was pyro and lights and energy and audience participation. And then when Grunge came out, it was like people staring at their shoes with their backs to the audience. It was kind of like, that’s not entertaining and cause Rock’n’Roll ultimately is entertainment. And when you’re paying top dollar, I mean it’s like WWF, you want to be involved. You want to have, you want have heroes. You want to have, you know people you look up to.
Grunge certainly did a lot of good for music industry.
Well I mean I’m not knocking it, because out of every genre of music, there are people that are very talented and very great and influential. And out of that era, the things that influenced me were ALICE IN CHAINS, SOUND GARDEN and STONE TEMPLE PILOTS. You know. So it’s actually kind of cool to see that Scott Whelan from STONE TEMPLE is playing with like old heroes, the G’n’R boys.
Yeah. So how do you like the new AUDIO SLAVE? You liking that?
Love the new AUDIO SLAVE. Like the first record. Again, I’m not too familiar with this new stuff yet. But definitely going to delve in deeper.
Not on the heavy side anymore.
No, that’s what I heard.
Let’s touch briefly on your guitarist Gene Scarpelli. As soon as I went on the site and saw your line-up and the last name Scarpelli. I immediately thought of GODDO and realized this last name is to too coincidental in the music industry and Gene has to be some relation to GODDO guitarist Gino Scarpelli.
That’s him.
Yeah. So that’s got to be amazing working with him you know. His dad’s been in the business for years. He’s got to have like the musical backing that his father’s had. What’s it like working with him?
It’s awesome. Gene’s a great talent. In fact, the way this band was put together, I pretty much was lucky enough to hand pick whom I wanted in this project. And just after SLIK TOXIK, I had put a project together called RAISED ON MARS, which was very short lived and that consisted of ex SLIK TOXIK guitar player Rob Bruce, myself fronting the band and playing guitar and Franz Mancini from I MOTHER EARTH. And it was a short-lived project, but we had the opportunity to do some shows and we played some shows with Gene’s band. And I’ve just kept in contact with him. I really liked his stuff and his style and I knew what he was capable of. So…
Great guitar player.
You know, again, with the name Scarpelli, it’s synonymous with his father who was in GODDO and like you say, he’s been around the business his whole life. Therefore, he knows the pros and cons and he’s not you know going to be…You know, you know what I’m saying. He’s kind of like a professional. He’s probably been a professional since he was a teenager.
And it’s Canadian, so we know that name. Like it may not be something they might know in the States, Scarpelli, but I mean anybody that loves music in Canada knows the name GODDO.
That’s it. It’s part of our culture right?
Right. Differences. What’s opposite musical styles of REVOLVER?
Differences.
Musically. You know like…
Musically, I mean SLIK TOXIK first of all was a band that I had formed when I was like seventeen. So, given that, like everything else, like my musical tastes in listening to music, they’ve evolved.
And matured.
Yeah. And my you know song-writing abilities have changed. I don’t know if they’ve gotten any better or any worse. They’ve just become a little different. So you know growing up as a song writer and a rock n roller and being in the public eye at nineteen years old and you know all over the TV in Canada and I have you know the opportunity to tour the States and meet lots of different people. That’s why SLIK TOXIK broke up was because it was a band that was formed while we were all fairly young and as you grow up people start developing different interests and changing and I think that’s pretty much what has happened with REVOLVER and you know as far as the feedback I’m getting all over the world, whether it be from webzines, or publications, or radio people, or whatever, you know, a lot of people are telling me it’s a step above.
Right. Like I mean you look back when you were young and the Juno Awards and stuff, I mean that was great for a young band. Now you look and it’s been fourteen years really you’ve been out of the spotlight. You know and when REVOLVER first came around my wife was asking me if this was in fact Nick from SLIK TOXIK and I was watching it and thinking holy cow, back in the spotlight. Nicely done.
Well you know, it’s one of those things that…It’s in my blood man. As much as, you can have a hate relationship with music, you love it all the more, you know.
The video I watched, “Turbulence”…
Yeah.
Was it shot in Toronto?
It was shot actually in a few different locations. There were some locations in Toronto and there was one location in particular that was in a town called Caledon, which is called the Badlands. That’s the scene where it looks like I’m on Mars, or something….
That was pretty cool.
Again, back to when I put that project RAISED ON MARS together, I had done a photo shoot up at that location and it’s always been in my mind, that when I do a video, I want to use that location. And when I wrote the treatment, I actually wrote the treatment for the video for “Turbulence”, I found a nice place to include that location.
The actual story behind the lyrics of the song “Turbulence”. Were these based around a personal experience?
Yeah.
What’s it based on?
Yeah. I hear what you’re saying. Its basically you know when you’ve been, most of the songs I write pertain to my experiences in the music industry, because it’s such a roller coaster ride. Your highs are so high and your lows are so low and you never think you can get it back. And you’re always second guessing yourself and you’re always questioning yourself. And you know, after SLIK TOXIK, there was, there was a period where you know, I couldn’t listen to SLIK TOXIK songs even though I wrote them. I couldn’t look at videos. You know I’d be at parties and friends would be OH! put on SLIK TOXIK and they’d put it on and I’d leave. And it was just something I had to, personal demons that I had to deal with. And you know, again, with the thing being nineteen years old and in the spot light to being twenty five years old and everything you’ve struggled so hard for all your life is gone. It’s kind of hard, to put the pieces back together.
I had to ask that cause my wife actually she was the one that said you know you almost feel like that song’s about addiction in a way. And I said you know what? Maybe it’s his own personal addiction. It’s something to do, like when you think of addiction it doesn’t have to be drugs or anything like that, but that’s the vibe she got off it and I said you know what, I’m going to clarify that because I mean who knows what people, how they perceive songs you know. Somebody might perceive something….
I like to write lyrically like that as well that even though it’s a personal experience, I try to make the song as universal as possible, so that, if somebody for example has had a certain issue in their life and they can kind of relate to what I’m saying in their situation, then I’ve done my job.
The band REVOLVER, what do you want the band described as? I mean you definitely don’t want it to be pegged as an eighties revamped into…
No, I don’t think it is. Like if you listen to the record, you named a couple of songs that have a little bit of a feel of a throw back. And you’re definitely going to get that. I mean this band is basically from that era.
But what do you not want to hear people classify the band as?
I wouldn’t want people to dismiss it without giving it a fair shake and listening to it. Because first of all, I know from my experience, my old band live and the members of Revolver and their previous bands, we were all about you know live energy and if anybody knocks that then they can kiss my ass. But musically, you know I don’t like it when people look at a picture and go it’s Nick from SLIK TOXIK and they automatically assume it’s something else because you probably know this as well as I do, a lot of people that came from our era are so full of shit, they love it still, but they feel they’re not cool if you know that if they actually admit to liking music from the late eighties rock and hair metal, or whatever, they’re not cool anymore and that’s a bullshit attitude to have.
You know what I’m saying?
One hundred percent. You hear a SVEN GALI song or something come on the radio; I don’t care what anybody says.
I agree man. Crank it up. I got CINDERELLA fuckin in my car right now and I’m diggin it.
Yeah.
You know. I’m listening to my old QUEENSRYCHE. I going to PRIEST and QUEENSRYCHE on Sunday night and I’m going to fuckin love it. And you know that’s my thing. As far as what REVOLVER sound is, I like to describe it as edgy, melodic, Metal.
Metal.
And you know, Metal has gone through so many changes over the years. Now we’ve got Screamo. We’ve got Grindcore (????), all these different tags, but guess what? At the end of the day it’s still fuckin Metal. And where did Metal come from? From the seventies, the eighties you know.
So you mention CINDERELLA in the stereo and that, what else are you listening to these days?
Right now I’m listening to the new PRIEST.
Amazing.
Yeah it’s different. It’s really different. It’s not what I expected. I’m listening to SALIVA out of the U.S. I love SALIVA. They’re a band that I probably can relate to the most that’s actually a new band.
They’re very different. They got the hard edge. And they’ve got the ballads they’re playing on the radio.
Yeah, they’re totally right up my alley. Actually another record that I just recently got that I’m getting into, when I was a teenager like we’re talking like eighty-four, eighty-five, I was into a lot of that heavy, heavy stuff. KING DIAMOND, MERCIFUL FATE, VENOM and I just picked up, it came out last year, but I just picked it up is a David Grohl from the FOO FIGHTERS put a project together called PROBOT which has all these guys from all these bands I used to listen to in high school and I’m just loving it. My wife goes that’s a guy thing.
Yeah.
And I’m like well maybe it is, but I love it anyway.
Heard the new SYSTEM OF A DOWN yet?
Yes, I have. In fact, I learned BYOB last week just for my own personal interest. My wife is in love with the song and I love the song and I said you know what, pop it in, strap the guitar on, and…
Hasn’t been out of my CD player for two weeks straight now. I can’t stop listening to it.
Right on. Right on.
Are you still getting a lot of feedback on the old music? Like I mean, when you come and do a show as REVOLVER and that, obviously people will know it’s Nick Walsh from SLIK TOXIK.
We actually throw in a couple of songs and I’ll tell you what, remember I told you about that period of my life where I couldn’t listen to SLIK. I couldn’t see SLIK. I put together that group RAISED ON MARS. I didn’t do any SLIK TOXIK, because I found that it was a little too soon after SLIK TOXIK for me to do that. Whereas people would think I’m still trying to beat a dead horse. So enough time has passed now, but it’s almost like a treat you know. I break out a couple of tunes. The audience appreciates it. My band digs it. I mean Scarpelli tells me I remember seeing you at Rock‘n’Roll Heaven going I want to fuckin play with that guy one day. And guess what? He is.
He got his dream. So what are you throwing in tonight? Of course “White Lies”, “Helluvatime”.
“White Lies”, “Hell of A Time”, those are the only two tracks we’re doing tonight. In the past we’ve done “Cherry Bomb” and we’ve also done a song off our second record that the Grunge killed at the time called “Irrelevance” and a song called “Twenty Something”.
It’s funny watching bands capitalize on the Grunge scene. Remember VARGA?
Yeah.
Like I mean, I remember them first off when they were a RUSH tribute and then they got into the heavier Death Metal and they did like “Evil Drifters”. And then they released “Greed” and “Freeze Don’t Move”. I thought where are you going with this? And finally they released “A Needle In The Haystack” and I knew that they had changed with the times
Well you never saw me putting on a pair of Dock Martins. That’s all I can tell ya. Until I felt like it. You know what I’m saying? It wasn’t like oh I got to put on these Docks and put a toque on my head if I want to sell records. I don’t think so.
So what happened with SLIK anyways? What were the main reasons for the break-up?
Well basically it was a band that I had started when I was very young and you know… And through the yeas of playing together and doing lots of touring together and rehearsing, like you know, back then that’s when everything else in your life didn’t matter. It was all about the band and you rehearsed five, six nights a week. And you know, people change and the last couple of tours we did were around the grunge thing and it was very, very poorly received. And again, it wasn’t so much that what we were doing was poorly received because it was bad, it was because we were lumped into something and we weren’t allowed to grow. And originally that’s why we had signed with EMI records, is that we had seen bands like HELIX on their label putting out four or five albums over the years and every band that they’ve stood behind for a career rather than let’s throw it against a wall and see if it sticks. And you know after the last record and touring across Canada and some heartache and hardships, I was twenty-five when I broke up the band and I basically just, you know, we got off the road and we had a meeting and I said you know what, if I’m going to do anything musically in my life, from this point on, it isn’t going to be with this band. And that’s not anybody’s fault per say other than just this current state of the industry. And you know it’s time to sort of go back to the drawing board, rediscover myself. All that kind of bullshit right.
I read a quote that said the music that you did when you took some time off from the time SLIK started you know, back say, lets just say ninety-two for instance the songs you took and worked on during your hiatus were songs that you said wanted to stick around even after the music era had switched over once again.
Absolutely. Like the quote you’re talking about is in our biography where I say music is ultimately a time capsule. And it is. It’s like literature. I mean you buy a book, it’s there forever for people to read. And you know there’s classic, just like there are classic records out there. I mean you know, you look at “The Wall” by PINK FLOYD, you look at “Zeppelin II”, “Zeppelin IV”. It doesn’t matter what comes and goes in pop culture, that’s always going to be there.
And as a songwriter, I’ve always just wanted to just write what I feel from my heart. And you know, it took a few years, like I said, doing different genres of music coming and going between Grunge and pop bands and boy bands and all this crap to actually be I guess happy with who I am and what I can do and what I can bring to music. In fact what I think I can bring to music has been lacking for many years.
It’s going to be cool, you know, years down the road and that and you’re listening to the radio and a REVOLVER song actually comes on and you know, you know that you did what you wanted to do like still from time to time you’d be watching MTV or Muchmusic and the odd time “White Lies” pops up here and there. So I mean you’ll know that REVOLVER will be a success if one of the songs actually sticks 5 or 10 years down the line
It’s one of those things that I always say to my band mates in REVOLVER, I say, you know, we’ve just signed to Europe. We’re planning on going over there. It could be a great thing for us because they’re right in to the Rock and the Metal over there. Canada’s a different story. It’s usually a situation like that. I mean look at all the great Canadian entertainers, whether they are actors, comedians, or musicians. They have to migrate to get acceptance in their own country.
And you know, the bottom line is, at the end of the day, no matter what happens, they can’t take away what we like to do, what we did for ourselves and what we, you know, as long as we do what we do they can’t take that away from us.
You know it’s cool. Like I mean, it’s neat that you can actually answer the SLIK TOXIK questions. I remember seeing an interview with Tommy Lee and I think it was on Q107. He got right pissed off when they started asking questions about the old bands you know. I think it was just due to the fact that there was so much animosity within the band. With SLIK TOXIK it really dint look like a bad break up or anything.
No, but it was. But so many years have passed and to be quite honest with you, I am not in contact with any single one of my old band members. And it’s not so much out of some sort of grudge that I’m carrying around with me. Because if I see them, I’ll be completely cordial. You know, we spent a lot of time together and we achieved a lot of things together and again at the end of the day, you can’t neglect that you know. You can’t say, you can’t put in your brain like that guys an asshole or whatever, or hold on, he may be an asshole, or you may be an asshole to him, but you did so much stuff together, that you know it’s like summer camp kind of thing.
It’s kind of an alliance.
Yeah. That’s what I mean you know. I mean, you know, especially in the early part of the years when you know we were seventeen, eighteen years old, dreaming about doing what we wanted to do and then we finally got to do it.
Very successful.
Yeah. You know.
So where do you see yourself in the future? REVOLVER in particular, like I mean say five years from now.
Well, what we’re hoping for is we don’t have big delusions of grandeur. We’re not nineteen anymore thinking we’re going to move into the Playboy Mansion. We just want to be able to continue to do what we enjoy doing and make a living at it. Rather than going to a 9-5 job.
So you look at from a time period. When it starts getting not fun and it’s just a matter of packing your gear up and showing up for the date and that, it’s time to write it off.
Posted: 2005-09
Review: Metal Immortal (France)
Writer: David
Website: www.metal-immortel.com
The Land Of The Immortals
Revolver, Turbulence
KILLER TRACKS: Atomic Arcade, Dead Weight, Jesus Wept
Revolver is the new band of singer Nick Walsh, who first made his mark in
1992 with Slik Toxik, a Canadian hard rock band. He was only nineteen at
the time. Slik Toxik disbanded soon after. With Revolver, Nick Walsh aims
for a more aggressive sound. Revolver has also opened for Vince Neil
(Mötley Crüe) and Melissa Auf Der Maur (Smashing Pumpkins, Hole).
Considering current musical styles, they shouldn't have too much trouble
achieving success in the U.S. No, this isn't a neo-metal group, nothing
like that, Revolver is typically American in spirit, salty, heavy hard
rock, recalling Mötley Crüe era John Corabi. There's an alternate rock
feel as well, with choruses in the style of A Perfect Circle. Nick Walsh
seems very at ease writing potential hits, with catchy, radio-friendly
choruses. If only for that, this album is a true accomplishment and odds
are that with some videoplay on MTV, Revolver could have the same success
as Nickelback, A Perfect Circle, Foo Fighters.
The second single, "Blue Sky", is actually not that far from Nickelback,
but it is also one of the weaker moments on the album, it's simply an
acoustic, radio-friendly pop track. At least, in an acoustic style,
"Walking" would have made a better single, because it's less formatted
than "Blue Sky". The first single, "Turbulence" is much more
representative of Revolver's style, in other words, it's tough, with a
killer chorus and undeniable melody.
Nick Walsh has a raspy tone, a bit like Whitfield Crane of Ugly Kid Joe
and he can adapt himself just as easily to ballads as to heavy tunes.
There's no lack of heaviness, as "Jesus Wept", "Gasoline" and "Nosebleed"
do the job. The guitars know when to turn down once in a while, a bit in
the same style of dynamics as A Perfect Circle or Our Lady Peace (on
"Juggernaut", "Electric Machine"). But this "alternative rock" aspect
isn't my favorite thing about this record. Fortunately, it isn't
omnipresent.
Some well-founded hard rock songs ("Atomic Arcade", "Dead Weight") make up
an album of sufficient length (45 minutes), which is rather a good thing
because finally, Revolver applies more or less the same recipe to each
song. If the album had been longer, I'd have been bored a few times. In
short, a great surprise, for a style that is pretty far from what I
usually listen to. But "Turbulence" should bring together the fans of
"old-school" hard rock and young fans of neo-metal-alternative-grunge,
which is no small feat!
(14/20) David
REVOLVER "Turbulence" (2005) - Label : Drakkar Records.
The former singer for Canadian Hard Rock Group Slik Toxik (who knew their
hour of glory in the mid-90's), Nick Walsh has resurfaced with Revolver, a
new project that took shape in 2001. This first effort proposes to us eleven
compositions forged in melodic rock taken to the edge of metal, ideal for
swinging in the house. These titles not withstanding , the rock of Revolver
is as effective as it is energetic. At the side of Nick Walsh, Sean Kelly
(guitarist of Crash Kelly), Gene Scarpelli (guitar) Laurie-Anne Green
(bass) and Sheldon Thomas (drums) form the perfect structure around the
rocking and seductive voice of the singer. Turbulence is a "foot to the
floor" album that is full of catchy refrains (Turbulence, Juggernaut,
Walking, Nosebleed) and with the release of the single "Blue Sky" (a mellow
acoustic/electric piece) Revolver should confortably pave a path to the
charts.
(7/10) Denis
REVOLVER "Turbulence" (2005) - Label : Drakkar Records
Ancien chanteur du groupe canadien de hard rock Slik Toxik qui connut son heure de gloire au milieu des années 90, Nick Walsh refait surface avec Revolver, un nouveau projet qui pris forme en 2001. Ce premier essai nous propose onze compositions forgées dans un melodic rock couillu à la limite du metal, idéal pour faire swinguer dans les chaumières. Ces titres sont sans détour, le rock de Revolver est aussi efficace qu'énervé. Aux côtés de Nick Walsh, Sean Kelly (guitariste de Crash Kelly), Gene Scarpelli (guitare), Laurie-Anne Green (basse) et Sheldon Thomas (batterie) forment l'ossature parfaite autour de la voix rocailleuse et ensorceleuse du chanteur. "Turbulence" est un album "pied au plancher" qui renferme quantité de refrains catchy ("Turbulence", "Juggernaut", "Walking", "Nosebleed") et avec la sortie du single "Blue sky" (morceau electro-acoustique assez soft), Revolver devrait aisément se frayer un chemin vers les charts. En tout cas, la qualité est au rendez-vous.
(7/10) Denis
Published: 2005-06-10
Interview: ChartAttack (Canada/U.S.)
Writer: Keith Carman
Website: www.chartattack.com
Revolver Survive Slik Toxik's Limo Ride
It's been years since we've heard the golden throat of singer Nick Walsh. Best known as the frontman for early '90s rock outfit Slik Toxik, Walsh hasn't exactly been in the public eye for the better part of a decade. After some rather trying events with his lion-mane-sporting cohorts (more on that later), he took some much-needed downtime to recollect his thoughts.
The result? A shit-hot hard rock quintet dubbed Revolver. Featuring Walsh, bassist Laurie-Anne Green, drummer Sheldon Thomas and guitarists Gene Scarpelli and Sean Kelly, this randy band of miscreants recently released their debut effort, Turbulence. Frustrated with the laissez-faire attitude of most current bands, Revolver have set their sights on destroying the current state of hard rock.
"We try to engage the audience," says Walsh. "As far as I'm concerned, for the past 10 years bands haven't been engaging the audience during the live show. As a fan, I've seen a lot of things where people are moshing around and you wonder, 'Are they enjoying the band? Does it matter who's on stage?' I hate to use the term arena rock, but it was a good time in music. When I got into music, KISS and Alice Cooper were actually entertaining people. Why can't we do that now?"
Melding the infectious drive of hard rock with the in-your-face attitude of metal and wrapping it up in an over-the-top live presentation, Revolver are nothing less than an explosive package. Ignoring current trends, the band are dead-set on carving their own niche in the world of Canadian rock in hopes that they will be seen as something decidedly unusual these days: genuine.
Says Walsh, "We want to be ferocious, energetic and inviting at the same time. I like to present the larger-than-life aspect. People are taken back by it because they're not used to it anymore, but it has to be in earnest. Fans can smell bullshit a mile away. If something is prefabricated, you can tell, so I want Revolver to be as genuine as possible."
If there's anything you can say about Walsh — and in effect, Revolver — it's that there is uncompromised sincerity coursing through Turbulence. And "turbulence" is something Walsh is all-too familiar with.
Slik Toxik were unceremoniously dropped from their label when a band member drunkenly stole its president's limousine and crashed it during an awards ceremony. The name Slik Toxik (and in effect, Nick Walsh) was taboo in the music industry for years. Only now is the story being seen as amusing.
"In hindsight I can laugh at it, but I couldn't then," says Walsh with a sigh. "That was a hard time for Slik Toxik. It was a volatile time because we were walking on eggshells. Our flavour [think Skid Row] wasn't the flavour of the month in the fickle music industry. The Seattle thing was swinging in and everyone was trying to sign Nirvana, going to Holt Renfrew to buy their plaid. Everything was in a state of flux. Our music wasn't selling and they wanted to revamp our sound, but like I said, people can smell bullshit. Our bass player was under duress; he had personal problems and was on medication. He made a booboo."
Unfortunately, as the face of the band, Walsh took most of the heat. But he's learned his lesson.
"It was my face on the milk carton. People came up to me and were like, 'I heard you smashed a limo!' I wasn't even there! It's too bad we didn't have an album ready at that time because we could have totally used (the incident) to our advantage. You had Axl Rose throwing a TV out a hotel window; you had Shannon Hoon pissing on the audience... those were front page incidents. But when a Canadian band does it, everyone just tries to sweep it under the carpet. If we were American, we'd be on the cover of Rolling Stone! We'll be prepared this time," he laughs.
Published: 2005-06-06
Writer: Bruce Campbell
Website: www.ultimate-guitar.com
Sound: Revolver is a breath of fresh air in the de-tuned world of hard rock/metal. They are fronted by lead singer Nick Walsh formerly of '90s band Slik Toxik and his voice is only getting better with age. The music is unbelievably powerful with driving guitars and a huge rythm sound. This is no throw back to the '90s, but rather a progression from the better sounds of the day. [10]
Lyrics: The lyrics are very introspective on some tracks and rather light and catchy on others. The lyrical content does suit the music it is matched with. For the most part you won't be scratching yor head trying to figure out what the themes are and on the other hand you won't be embarassed singing the songs out loud. [9]
Overall Impression: I cannot stress enough that this is the best new band in years and the album is killer. Check a few tracks on the revolvertv.com web site and you will be hooked. There is not a bad track on the album but "Turbulence," Dead Weight," "Dreadnaut" and "Blue Sky" are standouts. This band is going to be huge and will provide a much needed shotnin the arm to the metal scene. [10]
Published: 2005-05-25
Writer: Jeffrey Morgan (CREEM Magazine & Metro Times Detroit)
Column: Media Blackout
Websites: www.creemmagazine.com / www.metrotimes.com
SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: Revolver – Turbulence (Sextant) ::
When you’re the son of Goddo guitarist Gino Scarpelli, you’d damn well better be in a band that kicks
everyone’s ass and doesn’t embarrass your old man. These brass-ball commandos lay down a heavy carpet
of sound that’ll have your windows rattling for weeks. This is rock ’n’ roll the way it’s supposed to be played:
with bludgeoning riffs that explode in the air thicker than a barrage of flak bursts over Normandy on D-Day.
Velvet is for pocket-pool pansies. Real men pack concrete. • Be seeing you!
Revolver released their debut album "Turbulence" throught Sextant Records. Revolver is the new band from Nick Walsh fronted one of Canada's most successful hard rock bands, Slik Toxik back in 1992 with many tours and a gold album "Doin the nasty". Now Nick Walsh, has their new band, with the name Revolver in order to give to the people their music direction now days
The music from Revolver is the America hard rock and you can imagine how the band will sounds. Of course we have songs with small duration, about three to four minutes, so you can easily remember them and to be more suitable to the radio shows. The music is very nice and the compostions are well worked.
You can hear very nice songs and some really good guitar worked. The production is as good as it needs for this kind of music. For sure if you are a fan of America hard rock you will love this album. Hear also the Velvet Revolver and maybe they can use female vocals besides the girl behind the bass guitar.
REVOLVER ‘TURBULENCE’ (Points: 8.2 out of 10)
The Canadian band REVOLVER is made up of members of the bands CRASH KELLY and SLIK TOXIK. Musically they play a sort of modern approach type of Sleaze Metal, not unlike VELVET REVOLVER and BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION, but more melodic though. Songs like “Pandoras box” (very strong semi-rocker with good melodies), “Electric Machine”, “Atomic Arcade”, “Gasoline” and especially “Blue Sky” show that this band is able to capture the best of the late 80s LA Glam/Melodic Hardrocksound, give it a whole new dimension. A band like this is much better than what BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION and VELVET REVOLVER are doing in the States right now. Go check out this REVOLVER if you want to hear good updated Sleaze Metal.
Somebody told me once that you can blame Canada for practically everything, but you can’t blame ‘em for not delivering the goods when it comes to cranking out some good old rock 'n roll.
And this here case we can even talk about a semi-superband as two of the more famous Canadian musicians are in for the ride. Revolver is fronted by ex-Slik Toxik throat Nick Walsh & one member of the guitar tandem on duty is Sean Kelly. Mr. Kelly, as you will all surely know is the frontman of Crash Kelly, who were responsible for, in my book, the best record of 2003. And let me tell you, if I mention that the rest of the musicians were hand-picked by ‘veteran’ sleaze rocker Nick, you better believe this band possesses enough star quality to raise any roof under which they let their demons run free.
The band, named after Nick’s favorite Beatles album, sounds a little like a couple of decades of music put together in a heavy-metal-blender. It has a no-nonsense modern twitch to it, but with a history in the 80’s. A little bit of the harder edge Skid Row here, a little bit of the riff-heavy Slash’s Snakepit there, and you’ll know what to expect from this five-some.
My favorites are amongst the softer tracks on offer: first there's ‘Blue Sky’, which will please everyone that likes an 80’s sounding power ballad & ‘Walking’ that contains a super chorus. But also the heavier tracks can count on my nod of approval, check out the heavy as s**t and soon to be single ‘Dead Weight’ & the powerful opening duo ‘Turbulence’ & ‘Juggernaut’.
Great stuff; a good combination of the best of 2 worlds, namely the 80’s & the totally different 90’s. And it works, check it out.
Published: 2005-Jan/Feb Issue #85
Interview: Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles BW&BK (Canada/U.S.)
Writer: Aaron Small
Website: www.bravewords.com
REVOLVER - Motorized Like A Super-Charged Demon
A year ago, Revolver was named BW&BK's #1 Independent Band of 2003. Now they have signed to Sextant/EMI and issued their
debut album, Turbulence. Vocalist Nick Walsh (ex-Slik Toxik) discusses his new music, beginning with the album title, Turbulence, which
is also the name of the first single.
"Revolver has been in development for the last two yars. In that time, we've seen a few guitar players come and go. We've seen
some business partners come and go. With all the turmoil surrounding rock 'n' roll, the word turbulence seems to fit. There's rocky
areas and then everything seems to be stable. Next thing you know, you hit another pocket of craziness. That's basically
what the song is about: sometimes you'll hit these snags. The ups and downs are always going to be there. In this business,
our highs are really high and our lows are pretty damn low."
Revolver guitarist Sean Kelly is no stranger to the biz as he also fronts his own band, Crash Kelly. "I love Sean Kelly," enthuses
Nick. "I think he's probably one of the best guitar players I've ever had the pleasure of working with. He seems to be a chameleon. Crash
Kelly is more based on '70s glam and Revolver is based more on taking old school values and mixing them with modern
production. Sean is a full member of Revolver. There's such a family vibe within this band. As far as the live show goes, when
Sean has a conflict of interest, things are going to have to be taken care of, but we've pretty much got that nipped in the
bud."
Both Nick and Sean, along with the rest of the band: Gene Scarpelli - guitar, Laurie-Anne Green - bass and Sheldon Thomas - drums, appear
in the video for 'Turbulence'. "I wrote the treatment for it," says Nick. "We managed to hook up with Chris McPeak of
C Squared Productions, who also shot the Crash Kelly video for 'She Gets Away'. He'd seen us live a few times and knew the material.
Fast forward to shooting the video. We were in the studio finishing off the album; I was in the studio from 12PM until almost 6AM the next
day and I had to be at the first location for 7AM! So I didn't sleep at all. It was quite funny because I kept saying 'I'm a method actor.'
I had to stay up all night. If I'm going to look crazy, I have to be crazy. It was a great experience."
Revolver is currently working on a DVD. "It started out just as us getting this band fine-tuned, performing live. Our
photographer filmed a couple of the shows. We were thinking of it more as a way for us to view ourselves onstage, sort
of like a football team watching the replay of their game afterwards. Then we started doing this more and more and
realized we actually had some pretty cool stuff. I would love to do a live DVD with a mobile recording truck, but this is more about the
vulnerability of a rock band from almost a bootleg standpoint where you see it from the raw essentials, right out front as if you were
there. The audio is coming straight from the PA. We've got footage of us in the studio as well as the inclusion of the making of the
'Turbulence' video. Usually bands out of the gate that are new don't really have this kind of stuff. That's what makes
it unique. It's like growing and evolving in the public eye."
Revolver’s management sent me an advance copy of their full length debut Turbulence a while back and I’ve gotta tell ya I have been blown away for the second time. Revolver is former Slik Toxik frontman Nick Walsh’s new project and it’s nothing short of mind blowing. Not too long ago I had the chance to review the release of their 3 track single Turbulence and I was sold on Revolver, the crazy thing though is that Turbulence and Nosebleed aren’t even the best tracks on the album. The second single off the album Dead Weight and Turbulence will give you a good idea of what to expect from Revolver. I’ve said it before about Revolver this is a band that sounds like they have to be experienced live. There are always limitations to the sound on a CD that can be improved upon in a live atmosphere and all of the tracks on Turbulence sound like they beg to be played live. I’m guessing that a big part of the credit for that has to go to Nick because Slik Toxik were able to come across the same way on CD and believe me Slik Toxik never were a disappointment to see live. I could easily rattle off each track from this album as kick ass and every track on the album flows and maintains a high level of energy, hands down one of the best tracks on the album is Jesus Wept a track that is sure to kick you right in the ass and get the word Revolver on you lips. Another thing that should be noted is that Nick Walsh’s voice is in fine form here, a while ago The HBB spoke to Nick about Revolver and he said he voice had matured but that was kind of hard to tell from a CD single that also included a track that was recorded before Revolver ever released anything. Turbulence is an album that rock fans have been waiting for, solid front to back with great songwriting and musicianship. All of the tracks have an edge but everything remains melodic which it’s safe to say goes back to Nick’s love of the Beatles. If in the next few months we are not hearing tracks from Turbulence blasting out of radios across Canada it will really be a missed opportunity for music fans. Last year I called Megadeth’s The System Has Failed The album of the year…Well let’s get the new year off to a good start. Revolver – Turbulence is the album to beat in 2005 and one thing is certain that will be no easy task.
"Tough as Nails" Rock & Roll with a United Family Hypothesis
Revølver has spot-on intelligence with their unity and sense of family approach. “We are like brothers and sister,” says bassist Laurie-Anne. When chatting with their manager there is affirmation that he really gives a damn. He plays a positive fatherly role with his encouragement and constructive criticism. This unified attitude is reflected through their music and the way the band members are perceived. “There is one rule when dealing with conflict,” says seasoned professional manager, Enzo. “WE wash dirty laundry behind closed doors. Everyone in the band knows exactly what his or her roles are. WE are part of a family and a family that sometimes have problems.” Nick reiterated, “We can count on one hand the amount of conflict this band has had”. It’s apparent that there is a high level of equality and respect due to having no egos attached. These attributes seem to be the contributing factors for this band’s obvious connection on and off stage.
Timing was the key factor to bringing this band together by Juno award winner Nick Walsh (formally with Slik Toxik). When asking the differences between Slik Toxik and Revølver Walsh had this to say: “The music/genre that killed Slik Toxik is a big influence on the music of Revølver. It is as if we are embracing the grim reaper.” Revølver recently signed with Sextant/Zing and “In the past, when recording A/R guys tend to want to place their two cents worth in. Sextant realized a talent and did not want to mess with it. I hate to give the old cliché but, if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it”. Perhaps this is the reason for their success as a unit this time around.
The chosen name was due to Walsh’s favorite band “Beatles”. “When Revølver came into existence Velvet Revolver was not around.” They had no intentions to change their name due to recent said popularity. With affirmation Walsh stated, “What did ‘The Who’ do when ‘The Guess Who’ was around? Or even ‘Velvet Underground’ ”. There are many other examples of the same that are catalogued.
Laurie-Anne stated, “Nick is the guy! He sings, writes and plays every part. It has taken 3 years to mold our sound.” Even when it comes to rehearsing the band is a “well-oiled machine”. These professional musicians rehearse on their own and are ready to play at a moments notice.
What’s your opinion on today’s hardrock and metal? Does metal/hardrock still get a chance in today’s enormous choice of music? “I don’t think there’s enough. The North American industry is not bringing it to the forefront,” says Laurie-Anne. She does however “see the trend starting to tilt”. On the other hand “music genres are in and out, there seems to be a 10 year trend.” Wishful thinking has drummer Sheldon Thomas hoping that perhaps it is their turn.
What don’t you, as a band, like to be described as? “The band from the 80’s – lumping us in with groups like Poison. We are all elements of the past three decades. All the good in that music with modern production and different tuning,” says Walsh. With some of the members having been involved with Edwin, Kim Bingham (Nelly Furtado) and Barry Stock (Three Days Grace) there is a tendency for the general public to agree. They all have individual qualities to pull them outside that label. ON stage they offer pure “rock and roll” with a retro feel.
Revølver’s future includes a “heavy interest in Europe - outdoors festivals, and the shooting of their next video for ‘Dead Weight’ ”.
To check out more music and their latest video ‘Turbulence’ (now appearing on Much Loud) http://www.revolvertv.com/
Published: 2005-02-05
Publication: Leader Post (Regina/Saskatchewan, Canada)
Review by: Andrew Matte
Turbulence
Revolver
Sextant Records Rating 4 (out of five)
Oh, how I'm rooting for Revolver, a Toronto-based metal band fronted by
former Slik Toxik singer Nick Walsh. I've rooted fruitlessly for Canadian talent before. My hopes for mass
fortunes for the Killer Dwarfs, ex-Jitters singer Blair Packham and Joel
Plaskett of Thrush Hermit have yet to be realized, and I fear Revolver just
might be similarly unredeemed.This is not, however, from lack of trying or talent. The problem is that
bands like Revolver will get zero help from Canadian radio, which has its
collective head in the sand, or from MusicMusic, whose programming has gone
to heck and handbasket. Despite all this, Revolver's debut CD Turbulence thunders along expertly,
stringing together a collection of thrashers with a Canadian-esque melodic
feel, sort of a Nickelback-influenced Judas Priest. Ironic, too, how Walsh
sounds like Scott Weiland of the similarly-named Velvet Revolver.
Walsh's voice simmers and screams atop guitar work from Sean Kelly (Crash
Kelly) and Gene Scarpelli, the baby-faced son of Goddo guitarist and
grandfather Gino Scarpelli. The rhythm section is made up of
lingerie-revealing Laurie-Anne Green on bass and drummer Sheldon Thomas
(Said and Done).
High school kids might not want to trade their Godsmack T-shirts just yet,
but Revolver deserves consideration from them and anyone who appreciates a
fine grind.
Published: 2005-02
Review by: SLAM (Italy, Europe)
Website: www.slamrocks.com
Sul versante hair metal il Canada di fine anni 80 ci regalò band come Sven Gali, Slash Puppet, Big House e Slik Toxic, quest'ultimi non erano altro che la band del vocalist Nick Walsh che ora in compagnia di Sean Kelly (Crash Kelly), Laurie-Anne Green, Sheldon Thomas e Gene Scarpelli ritorna a far parlare di se grazie a questo progetto denominato Revolver. A titolo informativo, ricordo che gli Slik Toxik uscirono per la Capitol nei primi anni 90 ed ebbero un notevole successo con il loro album intitolato "Doin' The Nasty" ma chiusero il capitolo verso la metà della decade scorsa con l'uscita di "Irrelevant".
Dopo una lunga attesa ecco che anche io ho la possibilità di ascoltare il loro primo full length album che musicalmente viene bene riassunto nel titolo: "Turbolence"!
Sin dalla sua vecchia band Walsh si era portato dietro lo scomodo paragone con Sebastian Bach e devo dire che tutt'ora questo paragone calza a pennello anche se in diversi passaggi mi è sembrato anche un cocktail tra David Wanless (Sven Gali), Jizzy Pearl (Love/Hate... ops, Adler's Appetite) e qualcosina di Dave Aragon (Shake The Faith, soprattutto nella title-track), nomi non messi a caso e che identificano bene anche il sound della sua nuova band che si colloca tra gli SKID ROW di "Subhuman Race" ("Turbulence" e "Juggernaut") e gli Sven Gali ("Pandoras Box") con un tocco modernista e incazzoso. "Atomic Arcade" è una delle canzoni che preferisco insieme a "Turbulence", granito e moderno hard rock con la voce di Walsh e la chitarra Scarpelli a dettar legge, altre note positive la power ballad "Dead Weight" e la romantica "Blue Sky".
ML
REVOLVER - TURBULENCE (Sextant Records) This could be the most important release in hard rock/ Heavy Metal the past 15 years. Since grunge came along in the early 90's to steal the spotlight away from hard rock/metal bands that dominated the early to late 80's, not one band comes to mind that was able to recover from that or even try to bring up something new and fresh with that early hard rock edge/groove that also went missing when grunge made an appearance. Revolver is that band to take control of this industry which is hurting for a serious change. Nick Walsh who many will remember for his years in Slik Toxik is the man behind the mic once again after he went on hiatus for a while (But unlike Axl Rose) came back with a serious plan in mind that is bound to break open the hard rock/metal gates to get people to wake up and pay attention to something that truly rocks. The album kicks off with a couple of hard nosed tracks "Turbulence" and "Juggernaut" pure energy builds on this album as it chugs along like nothing anyone would expect. Anyone who thought Nick's career was over is sadly mistaken, he's only getting started. With the addition of Sean Kelly (Crash Kelly) on guitar and Laurie-Ann Green ( Ex-Jane Doe) on Bass this is a well experienced group of musicians who know what it takes to get make this happen. Strong lyrics by Nick Walsh with the help of long time friends Dave Mercel and Sean Baillie. The final three tracks on Turbulence are the most powerful on the album with it's real rock edge (Skid Row comes to mind) as Nick has never sounded better, he's learned a lot and it's helped him produce a top 5 release of 2005.
The track "Atomic Arcade" goes like this...
"What ever happend to the days when music spoke for you? Those days will come again, I swear, I swear. We're here to bring it back, good times and moments to be had, it's been absent all this time."
This is a band on a mission.
Metal Mike...........................................................9.5/10
HMP: Revolver sounds a little different to your previous band Slik Toxik; it's ballsy hard rock with a modern edge, and a touch of 80's. Do you agree?
Nick: Yeah, I think the methodology to the music of this band is to take all of the cool elements of the hard rock genre i.e. gutsy, melodic, and hooky, then blend that with modern production, different tunings and voila! The Revolver sound is born
HMP: So how did you feel about going back in a more aggressive direction with Revolver?
Nick: Well first of all it feels great. When I first started writing after Slik Toxik, I was writing more head trip type stuff, it wasn't until I took it to the stage that I started feeling that adrenaline rush, and the power of live and loud.
HPM: "Turbulence" is a very deep song. Is it referring to something that happened to you? Can you talk about it?
Nick: Turbulence is a very universal song, using metaphors to describe the turmoil surrounding ones life. Sometimes the best thing to do for your peace of mind is to get away from what ever it is that is troubling you, even if it is who you are. Take a vacation.
It wasn't a specific thing but more of a series of things that it was inspired by.
HMP: Which is in "Turbulence" the song you had to work more about?
Nick: I think what you are asking me is: Which song on the CD was the most work?
I think it would definitely have to be 'Electric Machine'.
We had originally done a demo recording of that song a year ago, and I wanted to keep some of those original tracks (vocals, bass) and Sheldon wanted to re-do his drum parts. So I think the hard part was trying to make it sound as consistent as the rest of the album considering it was technically mostly recorded a year before the rest of the songs.
HMP: I can hear some Mindfeed and Bad Moon Rising's influence ("Opium for the Masses"period) in your sound. Do you agree? Do you know these bands?
Nick: I'm sorry, I have never heard those bands, but if you say that Revolver reminds you of them, I definitely want to hear them now!
HMP: Slik Toxik was obviously an incredible band. Do you still get good feedback on the old records?
Nick: Oh yeah, people are always telling me that out of all of their older CD's, Slik Toxik is still in the CD player. And that means a lot to me, if you can write or perform something that sticks with people for years and is close to them, then that's what makes it all worth it.
HMP: What about your video clip?
Nick: The video for 'Turbulence' was filmed over two days here in Toronto, Canada, what an experience that was.
I had been in the studio doing the final mixes for the CD all week, and for the last day I was in there from 10:30am Friday until 5:15am Saturday, then had to start shooting the video at 7:00am that morning.
Needless to say that day did not end until 1:15am Sunday.
There is always work to be done!
HMP: What happened with Slik Toxik? Who dropped the ball?
Nick: Slik Toxik was a project that I had formed when I was still a teenager. After playing many years' together people started to progress or regress in different ways, and I felt that we had taken that band as far as it was going to go, and I had to move on for some peace of mind. It was like Dr.Frankenstein pulling the plug on an experiment gone wrong, it was hard, but it had to be done.
HMP: What was the most frustrating aspect of being a rockstar during the 80/90's?
Nick: Well, I was out in the early 90's, so I would have to say: the fact that record companies started to get confused as to what people wanted to hear, and what was once cool became taboo real fast, especially amongst music industry types. POSERS!!
HMP: What's the strangest thing a fan has ever asked you, or told you?
Nick: There are too many to list, but everything from sexy to psycho.
HMP: What about your bandmates? After Revolver you guys had a second project? Sean Kelly surely…
Nick: This band is a family, and no matter what people want to do musically there will always be room to do it. Sean has his pet project 'Crash Kelly' which is ideal for him to get his rocks off within a different light. Ultimately we are lovers of all kinds of music, so to diversify our playing it's healthy to enjoy other styles of music and other player's styles to continue to grow and learn new things.
HMP: You have played alongside Vince Neil Band. What kind of man is Vince right now? A gentleman, a damn rockstar…
Nick: To be totally honest with you, we didn't even meet Vince Neil.
He was the consummate rock star though; he came out and played all sorts of classic Motley. It was very cool to be playing on the same bill as a man that definitely had an influence on me and some of the members of Revolver over the years, very cool.
HMP: Any tour plans?
Nick: Yes we are planning on doing some touring here in Canada in the New Year for the release of the CD, also currently in the process of trying to secure a CD release for Europe and the U.S.
So we shall see what the months ahead have to offer.
HMP: How do you view the hard rock scene at the moment? Is there light in the tunnel ahead??
Nick: Well, the hard rock scene has seen many changes over the last 10 years and I think yeah, there are a lot of bands out there that are starting to make good albums again. For the most part, I think it's cool that guitar driven records are making there way back to forefront.
HMP: Where do you hope to be, musically speaking, in three years time?
Nick: It's one of those things where as a musician you hope to at least still be making music for a living. Even if there were no money I'd still be doing it. Once the music bug bites you there is no cure other than creating and performing music. So in essence, I'd just like to be able to get my music out to the masses to enjoy!
HMP: Something more you'd like to say?
Nick: I'd just like to thank you, and all of the lovers of hard and heavy music around the globe who support us and help this merry go round of ROCK keep moving forward. Thank You.
Revølver is the timely return to the rock scene for ex-Slik Toxik vocalist Nick Walsh. Assembling a powerhouse band including
Crash Kelly mainman Sean Kelly on guitar has enabled Walsh to step his music style up a whole level and deliver a sound
not too far removed from the harder edge of Love/Hate on the album's title track through to the Skid Row, Slave To The Grind
feel of 'Dead Weight'. Make no mistakes though as this is not an eighties or early nineties rock revisited reworking,
Revølver are a band with a solid modern day feel and sound that still manages to capture the magic of times gone by but also reworks
it for today's generation. Subtler moments like 'Blue Sky' and 'Walking' counteract the guitar grunge and ruthless
aggression of 'Nosebleed' to good effect and it's contrasting styles like these mixed with great gut wrenching screams
and vintage hard rock cries from Walsh that make Revølver's debut an album set to truly shake things up big time.
Watch out for this band should their shockwaves spread to the UK.
Published: 2004-11
Review By: Patrick - The Darkest Hours (Quebec, Canada)
Website: www.thedarkesthours.com
Nick Walsh is back! What a good news! Nick Walsh was the lead singer of the rock band Slik Toxic that had a gold album for Doin' the Nasty in 1992. Now he's back to the roots rockin' stronger than ever! Revolver came together in 2001 but with some line up changes, now they're ready to unleashed the beast! Revolver is definitly a hard rock band. Don't think that it's glam cause that's not the case. It's heavy rock! There's some very heavy grooves like in 'Juggernaut', 'Gasoline'. What a killer riff! You got also the killer groove of their first single 'Turbulence'. You also got the pure rock side in 'Atomic Arcade' and some amazing catchy big chorus like in 'Dead Weight'. Another nice groove! I was hoping for a nice ballad
Posted: 2005-10-24
Published: 2005-04-03
Published: 2005-Jan/Feb Issue #85
Published: 2005-02-21
Published: 2005-01
Published: 2005-01
Published: 2005-01