Beyond the ham-fisted breakdown fest audible from Bad News, there lies a rock ‘n roll record bursting at the seams exuding the same spirit of sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll danger Guns ‘N Roses mustered back in their Sunset Strip era. Massachusetts road dogs Ligeia set the excesses of the rock star vocation to a moshpit friendly soundtrack for the modern age on this succinct and subtle 11-track endeavor. Falling somewhere in between the unlikely triad of Emmure, Hinder, and Every Time I Die, songs like “Bombshell” and the surprising DJ-scratch cameo on “I’ve Been Drinking” convincingly convey the hard-nosed lifestyle of today’s rock youth through lyrics laced with profanity-laden cliches, rebellious rantings and misogynistic musings while a bombastic nu-metal-esque metalcore foundation keeps the heaviness churning at the proper RPM on cuts like “Hot Mess” and “One Night Stand.” Despite their allegiance to the harder side of the spectrum, Ligeia employs a generic good cop/bad cop screamy singing formula and wheels out a barrage of inspiration more Mötley Crüe than Misery Signals, confounding the hooded sweatshirt contingent while making this band enigmatic for purists to even consider sitting through as they bash away with a bastardized combo of cock rock pretense and metalcore heft. www.ferretstyle.com –Mike SOS