TOKYO MOTOR FIST – Tokyo Motor Fist (Album Review)

Is this a “supergroup” by definition? Sure why not utilize such hyperbole. I prefer to think of Tokyo Motor Fist as a coming together of like-minded musicians with a knack for hard rockin’ melodies. Comprised of Steve Brown from Trixter on guitar, Ted Poley of Danger Danger on vocals and a couple of fairly well-known and long-serving rhythm duos Greg Smith on bass and Chuck Burgi on drums both having served time with the likes of Alice Cooper, Rainbow, and more. I do believe that most of the music was already written by Steve Brown by the time the band came together. So while I was looking forward to that first listen I am even more excited about the prospect of this foursome writing music together which I hope comes out of this. If you are not familiar with these guys and their sound let me sum it up: hard rock hook-laden, some shredding solos, melody up the ying yang, vocals and background/gang vocals all around, produced and then produced some more for a refined studio sound, and when it comes to the softer side of hard rock some damn fine tunes too! Can you read my excitement? Here we go!

Right out of the gate we are rockin’ with “Pickin’ Up The Pieces”. I listened to this song 3 times over before moving to the next. I love it. Is there anything new here? Nope. Groundbreaking? Nope. I feel sad for those that want a style of music to evolve/change. That is why I listen to other styles of music so I am always getting what I want, however when it comes to this style I want to feel like I am 16 again and this sound does it for me. Hence in my mind, I am 18 and/for life! There is a formula for great hard rock tunes and this is it for me. The video for this song is good old fashioned fun too! Check it out below.

Next, we have “Love Me Insane” which rocks to start with some gang vocals and then Ted is awesome with his refined vocal sound. All around darn fine tune!

“Shameless” is all about guitar riff. This is a summer song! It is February but I can envision a beautiful hot summer day in July with this album cranked to 11! Three songs in and Tokyo Motor Fist are going strong, super strong.

Oh yeah, track #4 is what I am waiting for after 3 solid rockers. Tempo slows down and Ted shines on vocals. I love this song entitled just that: “Love”. The lyrics hit me front and centre; I am a softy underneath all this puffed up long hair.

“Black and Blue” gets us back rockin’ and rollin’. Nothing grabs me about this tune, its good but not a standout.

I like “You’re My Revolution”. If I had to a pick a new song with a modernization of the style it would be this one. Like I said above I am not looking for evolution per se but this has it in the sound.

Things slow down considerably on “Don’t Let Me Go”. A good song, a little on the moody side of sound.

“Put Me to Shame” sounds like early Def Leppard, I really like it. Rocks hard with awesome band vocals. The riffing eats it up.

As we roll into the final third of the release I am still ranking this as a top release already for the year. Track 9 is a strong, angry, pounding sounding “Done to Me”. Probably the least refined and most raw of all tracks up to this point, which is just fine to me. I like the variation.

“Get You off My Mind” starts off with some keys and an expectation of epic tale telling? Slower tempo. This could be a Danger Danger song without a doubt. I like it too!

Final song of the release is “Fallin’ Apart” and the fellas from Tokyo Motor Fist want to close it out loud n’ proud I think. Classic riffage and some skin pounding. I love ending a strong set of songs with this kind of tune. Could have easily been in the first third of the album, smart to finish with this.

So, I think I have painted the picture of the style and sound you should expect from Tokyo Motor Fist. For me, they have delivered exactly what I hoped for and expected. This will be on regular play for some time, and for sure all summer long!