David Rock Feinstein – Bitten By The Beast

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A new album from former Elf/The Rods guitarist David Feinstein rarely causes more than a few cursory ripples in the metal community, but the big selling point of his latest record, his first in six years, is it includes one of the very last vocal recordings by Feinstein’s cousin Ronnie James Dio before his death in May. Is the fact that Feinstein has commissioned a website purely for this album, and every piece of advertising or marketing for it points out Dio’s appearance before any other information about the new music a genuine tribute to the great man? Maybe, maybe not. But when it comes down to it, Feinstein has two serious issues with this album music. The most important being he can’t sing. His vocals, even with the heavy effects masquing them, are very poor. On his last album, under the Feinstein band name, he employed former Royal Hunt singer John West, to good effect. This time he’s handling all vocals himself, apart from Dio’s appearance, and this is a mistake. The other problem is his guitar style and riffs sound like prime era Dio, which is going to count against him given his family ties to the legendary singer, and all of the marketing pushing Dio’s name above Feinstein’s. Claims that he’s simply tried to replicate his cousin’s success and style will be immediate, and will be very hard to deny. That’s not to mention the cliché-ridden lyrics. The only saving grace are his guitar solos, Dio’s vocals (which aren’t his best, but how could they ever have been? The wafer-thin production doesn’t help) and the fact that some of the songs are actually reasonably enjoyable (especially Metal Will Never Die, the song with Dio on), despite Feinstein’s bar-room sneers. Dio fans will buy it, just to own one of the last performances by their hero. Everyone else probably needn’t bother.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2010, Albums, Heavy Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, David Rock Feinstein