Millionaire - Paradisiac

by Andrew Carver

published: 21 / 12 / 2005

Label: Play It Again Sam
Format: CD

Appealing hard rock from Belgian group Millionaire, which draws comparision with Queens of the Stone Age and and provides an engaging take on post-Sabbath art-rock

Review

Millionaire is a Belgian hard rock band, part of the new wave of bands like Pleasure Forever who eschew the straight homage of 1970's groups like AC/DC for a quirkier take. In addition to driving riffs, the band makes entertaining use of signal decay and strange tones, to the point where the casual listener may wonder if his or her CD player was about to go on the fritz, and pile nervous energy into songs like 'For A Maid', inspiring comparisons to Unwound, Bailter Space and Sonic Youth. That said, the most obvious point of comparison is with Queens of the Stone Age. The Millionaire-Queens connection is a strong one: Millionaire singer and guitarist Tim Van Hamel also plays guitar in the Eagles of Death Metal along with Queens of the Stone Age mastermind Joshua Homme, and Homme produced “Paradisiac”, and he leaves a fairly heavy sonic footprint. Some of the guitar tones are so dead-on similar you expect the band to launch into a Queens cover, and after hearing 'A Lust Unmatched', you might be forgiven for wondering if the band is named in tribute to the track 'You Say I Ain’t Worth a Dollar But I Feel Like a Millionaire' from 'Songs for the Deaf'. Despite that, the group has enough character to outrun Queens of the Stone Age shadow, and provides an engaging take on post-Sabbath art-rock.

Track Listing:-

1 I'M On A High
2 A Lust Unmatched
3 For A Maid
4 Street Life Cherry
5 Rise And Fall
6 Alpha Male
7 Love Is A Sickness
8 Ballad Of Pure Thought
9 We Don't Live There Anymore
10 Wake Up The Children
11 Face That Doesn't Fit
12 Nocturn