Album review: TODD ANTHONY JOOS AND THE REVELATORS – The Burden

TODD ANTHONY JOOS AND THE REVELATORS - The Burden

[Release date 18.04.17]

Depending on what publicity shots – past or present – you’re looking at, Todd Anthony Joos looks like one scary sort of a guy – either Breaking Bad Walter White’s crazed, bad ass, alter-ego Heisenberg in ‘don’t fuck with me’ mode, or a distant relative of Osama Bin Laden.

Add in song titles on his latest release like ‘The Burden’, ‘Toxic’, ‘I Die Everyday’, ‘Truth and Lies’, ‘Get Behind Me’, and ‘Victory’ and he’s not the sort of guy you’d want to find sat next to you on a transatlantic flight manifest.

But actually he’s a born again Christian (still not comfortable sitting next to him on a plane) selling messages given to him by God, through rock songs dealing with subject matter aimed to connect with the downtrodden, whores, drug addicts, and thieves (OK, I very definitely want to swap seats).

The Burden is Joos’/the band’s fifth release in 10 years and putting preconceptions aside for a moment, the surprise is that The Burden is an extremely accessible ‘classic’ rock set. And Joos’ an excellent songwriter/vocalist as well as being a Grammy nominated producer/engineer

It’s actually pretty infectious, no frills, straight ahead rock grounded in the garage rock roots of the likes of Blue Oyster Cult and Alice Cooper, and even the Doobies in some of the chorus lines, although for the most part The Revelators are an altogether harder hitting outfit. But its rock radio friendly stuff, there’s some first-rate hooks, and it’s easy to see why, with the messages of salvation thrown in, it might have a revelatory impact on a disaffected penitentiary audience.

Yes, Todd Anthony Joos is a man on a mission, and an object lesson in not judging a book by its cover. ***1/2

Review of Pete Whalley

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Power Plays w/c 28 October 2024

THE RASMUS Rest In Pieces (Better Noise Music)
THE PLAGUE What Else Can I Do (FiXT)
STAR CIRCUS Turn The Tide (indie)
DEFENCES Breathe It In (Long Branch Records)

Featured Albums w/c 28 October 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)