Strays

I've been compelled for a while now to review the new Jane's Addiction release, "Strays". I really felt that a Jane's Addiction review deserved a place here at Metal Reviews. Being we already have reviews by bands like Audioslave, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Warrior Soul, A System Of A Down, etc., it's only fitting to finally have an album by Jane's Addiction within the Metal Review archives. Jane's Addiction is highly credited with creating and influencing what we now know today as Alternative Rock/Metal. They were one of the first bands to play a hybrid of rock music that mixed metal with strains of punk, folk and jazz. They created a unique form of music that was hard to categorize because of all the different styles used, hence the term Alternative Rock/Metal. A large part of Jane's Addiction's musical style has to do with the guitarist Dave Navarro. He was highly influenced by Jimi Hendrix and his guitar skills can be best described as a merger between heavy metal, psychedelia and modern rock. In fact, before he joined Jane's Addiction, he was playing in a speed metal band along with Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins. "Strays" is the first Jane's Addiction album in over six years. Due to their recent reunion for another Lollapalooza tour, it was only natural that the band write and record some new material. What we have is 3/4 of the original lineup creating an album that rocks! The music is much more straightforward over all than songs from "Nothing's Shocking" and "Ritual De Lo Habitual". A track like "Price I Pay" reminds me of "Ain't No Right" from "Ritual de lo Habitual". "Just Because" can be compared to "Had A Dad" from "Nothing's Shocking". Jane's Addiction seems to have favored the hard rock formula that they used on some of the songs from the last two albums, using the melodicism of power pop and the constant riffing of metal. There are some clean and chorusy yet dreamy and psychedelic guitar parts at times but they are not to over shadow the main focus of the music. There's even a nice acoustic track with some string arrangements called "Bring The Mood". The music that Jane's Addiction creates today sounds a bit like a cross between Warrior Soul and Filter. I personally didn't care for Dave Navarro's or Perry Farrell's solo albums. They were some what experimental, using electronics and loops at time like Nine Inch Nails. "Strays" is a surprise and a welcomed return to a part of Jane's Addiction roots that made them standout above the rest of crowd back when they first helped create the scene we now know as Alternative Rock/Metal.