Wild Life and Wild Times
starring Eric Adams and Chester Moore
Magic Circle Music
Heavy Metal and bow hunting. An odd juxtaposition, or just two distinct ways to prove your manhood in public? While Ted Nugent may be the poster boy for rock n’ roll hunting, Eric Adams seems every bit as proficient, and equally enthusiastic about his music and his tracking. Mr. Adams hooks up the Beaumont TX based writer Chester Moore, and they take male bonding to a new level. It’s blood, not booze, that encourages them to get up at all hours, dress in camouflage, and hang around until they can shoot something. The payoff is the beauty of “God’s Country” and all the tasty Black Hawaiian Ram they can eat.
If you’re more interested in Rock n’ Roll than the hunter/gatherer scene, be aware this disk is 99% stalking, aiming and gutting. I’ll assume the best about the tips on where and how to outsmart the ungulates and then grill them, but the only music of note is Eric Adam’s’ low-key soundtrack. You’ll see a wide variety of wildlife in semi-natural settings – emu, deer, and carp are some of their targets, – but unless you find other guys’ hunting stories fascinating, this gets old fast. I saw some promise in the segment on a Texas rattlesnake roundup, but these guys only aim at relatively large and nontoxic beasts. I’ll grant them this much – they are great at what they do. Shots rarely miss, without enhanced graphics you’d never see Moore and Adams hidden in the brush and they can call animals to within 10 yards. This is impressive, if not captivating.
What I miss is any insight into the band, or how Mr. Adams relates stalking to rocking. Chester Moore does most of the on-camera commentary; Mr. Adams is content to pass along a thumbs-up or similar supporting agreements. Beware, this disc does show actual kills, but the only one that seems unfair is the buffalo hunt. These are ranch-raised animals complete with yellow ear tags mandated by the federal brucellosis control program. This is NOT the disc to get your air guitar buddies. Save it for the big game hunter you love, and keep browsing for your heavy metal.
