Rewiew - Twenty Two Hundred - "Carneval de Venus"

I don’t know how much I have in common with Slash, but apparently we both think that Twenty Two Hundred and their new album “Carnaval de Vénus” kicks ass, and that’s something. Ever since I heard the tune “Hitman” last year, I’ve been waiting impatiently for this album, and it does not disappoint. “Carnaval de Vénus” is a tour de force, rumbling with a heavy, thick, fat rock’n’roll groove that will roll over you like pleasure train, making you want to do bad, but very enjoyable, things.
This is a band that already sounded good on their debut EP “Eleven” (released in 2010). Since then they’ve toured with Slash, picked up Tony Cardenas-Montana on vocals, and been signed to Tonequake Records. The result is an album that is blistering hot, and so flat-out sexy that (to steal an expression from a friend of mine) it makes my bra unhook itself.
Things start off just right with the deep, hooky and heavy “7X Down”, laced with enough swaggering attitude to make you drop whatever you’re doing and pay attention. Then, “Got It Bad” rattles your bones with a wickedly twisted bass and a seductive slither to the vocals.

Put bluntly, the entire track-list is just one sexy beast after another. “The Rat” and “Hitman” both growl and throb with hard rocking goodness, while “Stone Cold” starts out bluesy and teasing before slamming you down with riffs so heavy and hot, you’re likely to need a cold shower.
Twenty Two Hundred is simply on fire here. Drew Alig is relentlessly awesome on drums, giving the music the strong bones it needs, and both Marcus Kain on guitar and Mark Wells on guitar and bass obviously have their instruments set to kill throughout. Just listen to the smooth and swaying “Mojave”, or the achingly powerful “Shot Down” with riffs so weighty they might crush something.
The way Kain and Wells make the guitar and bass work together, while still showing off big-time on solos, is a huge part of the album’s sex appeal. Another part of that appeal is Cardenas-Montana’s vocals – they’re like really good booze: goes down smooth, but with that rough bite that makes you want more. He flaunts that great voice on “The Sun”, a track with a loose, slow-burning vibe that comes back around on both the seductive “Everything”, and the brash and swinging “Enemy”. Saving some of their very best for last, the band then tops it all off with “Why Can’t You Love Me” – 8+ minutes of pleading, pleasing rock with a groove so deep you really do feel it in your bones.
“Carnaval de Vénus” is so good it kind of drives me crazy. The lyrics, music, and vocals come together perfectly, and everything is saturated with a carnal, lusty vibe that makes it irresistible. Take this album home, put it on, make out with it, and give your sub-woofer a serious workout at the same time.