Little Monsters

Holland – Little Monsters


Micheal Angelo Batio rules. Let’s face the facts people – the guys shreds and he’s a f**king nice guy too – a winning combination in my books. Anyway, he came over to New Zealand to do a series of guitar clinic/mini shows and is an extraordinarily talented guitarist, and storyteller. After his management announced at the final moment of his performance that he was willing to sign any and all autographs, I waited for about 20 minutes before finally getting up front. I told the guy that Holland f**king rocked, and he had a look of surprise on his face – like someone even knew about the band. I could be mistaken, but maybe not. Most people don’t know about Holland, but you should. Holland is a great 80’s hard rock act featuring the coupling of legendary songwriter and vocalist Tom Holland, with non-other than M.A.B. at the axe – believe me it makes for an excellent combination.

Holland’s sound is energetic, upbeat and driving, with plenty of chances for M.A.B. to flex his technical prowess in the form of sexy little guitar licks, great riffage and of course, phenomenal shred work. It’s not really anything similar to his epic, emotionally driving solo stuff, or as over-the-top of Nitro however, just solid hard rock that pulls no punches. In a genre which by the late 80’s had become incredibly stale for the most part, this 1985 release retains a freshness and originality one would expect from other greats, like Dokken.

Anyway, one of the highlights for me is the party anthem ‘Wake Up the Neighbourhood’ which is incredibly fun, and showcase some great, yet understated M.A.B. riffs – they have plenty of energy and flow well into incredibly well-suited and brilliantly executed guitar lead. This ones not a serious number, by energy stretch of the imagination. It’s a youth orientated number about partying, with opening lines mentioning something to the effect of “you bring the coke, I’ll bring the ‘Jack” which is priceless. There’s even a spoken word acting bit in their by some guest voice in which the songs namesake is revealed. A stiff middle-aged man yelling at the partying young people and calling them “Ya little monsters!” – Excellent.


‘Gotta Run’ is a damn-well brilliant 80’s power ballad. Striking in its emotion, and its composition, this is a memorable one for me. I don’t know what it is about songs like this, but they just drive me wild. So much passion comes through in Holland’s vocals, especially in the flawless, yet simply worded chorus “Gotta run, Gotta ru-un”. When this is coupled with M.A.B.’s perfect for the setting riff and his even more perfect (?) guitar solo, it’s a damn treasure. A phenomenal number up there with the best love songs of 80’s heavy metal. M.A.B. is no slouch at guitar solos – we all know that, but I guess it’s more of a challenge writing something which suits the mood and feeling of the song, matching that emotion as it were. He does it here.

The remainder of the album is strong, in fact it’s rather lacking on ‘filler’ but I guess ‘High Life’ and ‘Sacrifice’ are my other favourites. ‘High Life’ is similar in philosophy to the excellent number ‘Gotta Run’, its got that 80’s pop rock kinda thing going on, but is saved by great production, mixing, overall songwriting and a brilliant guitar lead passage by the man himself. Hats off to Holland though, brilliant writing on this one and the rest of the album, and strong vocals. Sacrifice is a decent and punchy love song in the tradition of Dokken. In fact, Batio’s riff in the opening section is very George Lynch-sounding indeed - Interesting. The lyrics in the chorus “Sacrifice for love” are equally as Dokken. There’s an awesome vocal harmony section at around the two-minute mark which gives the song a bit more flair and panache.

Coming back to this album, I can’t believe how good it is. I listened to it a bit a year ago, but it was subsequently buried under the incoming waves of newer and newer acquisitions. In a way, I’m happy I didn’t thrash it, as it’s kinda the only album these guys have got (bar the recent reunion effort, which I haven’t got yet). All songs are pretty strong, but what stands out are the ballad ‘Gotta Run’ which incredibly emotionally driven, and of course M.A.B.’s great guitar work. It’s melodic hard rock, with metal tinges due to Batio’s presence, so isn’t for those who cant handle that – but it is good. Songwriting is solid and the mixing is great – everything sounds really full and thick without being over the top, and the guitar and bass come through extraordinarily. A really strong album that makes me wish they done more.