Chyna
Chyna
FLX
Another stellar release from the number one free agents of rock in the USA, Chyna. I can’t recommend this band enough to everyone. Chyna, who’ve appeared a few times earlier in the pages of Ink Nineteen, is fronted by former Samhain drummer, Steve Zing, and play a very original blend of rock, dancey-goth, and just plain interesting music. This latest effort, their third full-length album, shows that the band has taken on a little more of a harder edge and is moving in the direction of a harder, darker mix of funky power chords and mysterious keyboards.
This new album includes “Heart and Soul” and “Your Hell,” from last year’s limited edition EP, as well as what I think should be the biggest hit of 1998, “Illusion.” I can’t say enough good things about “Illusion.” For me, it really defines what a great pop/rock song should sound like since the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and now almost the ’90s are over. With almost 40 years’ worth of sounds out there, “Illusion” seems like it was crafted with such care and attention. It’s as though the best elements of dark, powerful psychedelic music were studied and then mixed perfectly by musicians well-versed in punk, metal, goth and exotica. The price of the album alone is worth it just for this one song!
They really lay on the heavy guitars and even some genuine angst on “Terror” and “All Alone,” which is a bit of a new direction for Chyna that can only mean the band is expanding into the darker realms of goth. Plus they’ve been photographed all in black, save for their blazing red eyeballs… FLX Records, P.O. Box 948, Lodi, NJ 07644-0948.
