CD Review of Take It to the Limit by Hinder
Recommended if you like
AC/DC, Motley Crue, Poison
Label
Universal Republic
Hinder: Take It to the Limit

Reviewed by Mike Farley

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D
espite selling millions of albums and being a staple on "active rock" stations, Oklahoma-based quintet Hinder is not the kind of band that you can easily slap with that active, modern, alternative label. And if you give them a fair listen, you can’t really slap them around like many critics have, either. On the heels of their very successful 2006 release, Extreme Behavior, Hinder is back with Take It to the Limit, a set of new tunes that doesn’t do anything to hide the fact that this band likes to party and have a good time melding booze, weed, girls and music. At the core of rock music, what could be realer than that? Singer Austin Winkler sounds like a cross between 3 Doors Down’s Brad Arnold and Motley Crue’s Vince Neil, and fronts a guitar-driven that sounds less like a "modern" rock band and more like classic rockers AC/DC or any hair band from 20 years ago. And it all works because the songs are solid, and also because you know the band doesn’t give a shit whether you like them or not.

"Use Me" is like an anthem for the rest of the album, no doubt written about a groupie experience, and is quite possibly one of the best rock songs you’ve heard in a long time. "Loaded and Alone" has a Neil Schon guitar lick thing going on, and pokes fun at rock stars who take themselves too seriously. Are you starting to like Hinder yet? "Last Kiss Goodbye" and "Far From Home" have that dark, forced Nickelback thing going on, so we’ll give Hinder a pass for those. There is the riffy and testosterone-laden "Up All Night," another anthem that encourages drinking and promiscuity. And speaking of the Crue, that band’s guitarist, Mick Mars, appears on the power ballad title track, the kind that will make you raise your lighters, and is a Top 40 radio programmer’s wet dream as well. The band continues to alternate between edgy rock ("The Best Is Yet to Come" and "Heaven Sent") and sappy ballads that will remind you of spandex and lots of blond hair ("Thing for You").

Hinder

If you jump in with both feet and don’t listen to what the hipsters and twisted noses are saying and give Hinder a fair listen, chances are good you’ll like what you hear. Take It to the Limit might be a vanilla, somewhat lame title for a rock album, but the music is anything but. Crank it in your car, drive really fast with the windows open, and let Hinder bring the rock. Just wait till you get to your destination to party like they want you to.

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