Freak Of Nature - Albums Collection 1993-1998 [3CD]

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Freak Of Nature - Albums Collection 1993-1998 [3CD]

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Freak Of Nature - Albums Collection 1993-1998 [3CD]

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Freak Of Nature - Albums Collection 1993-1998 [3CD]

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After the breakup of White Lion, singer Mike Tramp wasted no time putting together a new band - Freak of Nature. Tramp obviously saw the hair metal party coming to an abrupt end, adopting an image far more suited to a Seattle grunge band than another L.A. party rock band.

Tramp may have traded in the spandex and hairspray for flannel and denim, but the sound - at least on the band's 1993 self-titled debut - is the same kind of melodic rock that White Lion was so well known for. Sure, some of the pop metal elements are gone (you won't find another Wait here), but the music is very melodic and still very much a product of the L.A. rock scene. You're going to hear this and think White Lion a lot quicker than you are Pearl Jam. I think Tramp was on to something here, at least more so than anything else he's worked on since White Lion's demise.

In the end, Freak of Nature proved far less successful than White Lion, and nowhere near "alternative" enough to adapt to the 90's changing musical landscape. Still, fans of Tramp's work in White Lion will find a lot to love about this album. It's a perfectly good melodic rock album that managed to avoid the clichés of the hair metal scene while retaining the musical elements that made us love that kind of music in the first place.

Justin G, Amazon.com

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Freak Of Nature - Albums Collection 1993-1998 [3CD]

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After nearly 10 years of its release, I am still baffled: how can such an incredibly deep, cerebral, and poignant album go unnoticed by the masses? Is it because Mike Tramp, before forming Freak of Nature, was the singer of the somewhat famous band White Lion? Did people who wanted to discover new bands turn their back on FON because of some preconceived notions regarding their singer? I don't see it. Whatever the reason, both the band FON and their second (and unfortunately last) album remain -to this day- among the most underrated entities of the 90's. It's a shame people missed out on FON, for Gathering of Freaks features Mike Tramp's best vocal performance ever along with his most haunting songwriting. He never before or after GOF wrote such lyrics again. Maybe the world wasn't ready to accept this album at the time of its release, who knows?

Gathering of Freaks is a much darker and heavier album than FON's self-titled debut. In fact it is by far the heaviest album Mike Tramp has ever written and sung on. Lyrically it deals with social issues, as opposed to personal matters. The subjects vary from song to song, but as a whole, there is a great sense of unity on the album that makes you think it is a theme album. "The Gathering" is a very short, yet haunting, intro starting with a dark acoustic piece and followed by Tramp's deep and somewhat angry voice. It ties in with the heavy metal masterpiece "Enemy", which is perhaps the most face-ripping heavy metal song from Tramp ever. The double guitars are fittingly supported by Jerry Best's bass and Tramp's vocal harmonies during the chorus are killer. "Stand Back" is about the indifference in society, how people don't care about anyone else but themselves. "Raping the Cradle" is where the tone of the album goes down to emphasise the lyrical and artistic message of the track. It is about a father raping his own daughter looking at the tragic situation from the daughter's point of view. "Big Black Hole" showcases Mike Tramp's almost growling vocals, especially in the outro. The chorus is quite melodic compared to the first set of songs, but not in the sense you would call catchy. Tramp's voice at the end of the song is out of this world. To this day I respect him for going out of his way to try something new and dangerous, instead of jumping on the bandwagon to write a few more love ballads and take the easy way out. His vocal range may not be the best in the world, but the effort he put in this song is nothing short of amazing. "The Tree" has got to be one of my all-time favourite songs of all times. The slow bass intro, the unexpected key and tempo changes, and the very bold lyrical aspect make it one hell of a song. It combines the subjects of deforestation and death penalty without making it seem forced the least bit. The back vocals serve their purpose very well too and I just love the drumming on this one. The entire structure of this song is way ahead of its time. "Candle" and "Need" are the two mid-tempo/slow songs on the album though from a lyrical standpoint they are much heavier than the rest of the tunes on this CD. The latter is about drug addiction featuring one of Mike's most emotional vocal delivery. The last set of songs like "Powerless", "Open Space", "Get it Yourself" are full of anger, though not in a negative way. Tramp basically screams at the senselessness of injustice in all forms. "The Parting" closes the album successfully making you think that this is one of the most complete yet overlooked releases ever.

This album obviously was made to refuse any record label's terms. It's art for art's sake. Maybe that's the reason why they couldn't last longer than two albums. Then this is the perfect proof that every second on it contains pure honest emotion.

Murat Batmaz, Amazon.com

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Freak Of Nature - Albums Collection 1993-1998 [3CD]

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Although you may think that Outcasts is Freak of Nature's third album, it is important to note that vocalist Mike Tramp released this compilation CD after his debut solo CD. Outcasts, which would be wise to title "Outtakes", came out when Mike Tramp made an effort to have it released Stateside after his first two FON albums never seeing the light of day. Too bad cause those two albums (s/t and Gathering of Freaks) were the highpoints of his career. Unfortunately they did not get the support they deserved and FON broke up in 1996. Mike released his solo album Capricorn and then this Outcasts CD in 1998. But because the songs on it weren't composed as an album, there is no real sense of unity between them. It was still cool to read Mike's liner notes about the history of FON, which he called "the best band of his life", and the intrepretations of his songs.

Some of the songs on this CD are the rough demo versions recorded with original guitarist Oliver Steffensen, who would later co-write some songs with Mike on his first and third solo albums. Three of these songs would also make it to the debut FON album because they were too strong leave out Mike himself would admit years later. "Possessed" is perhaps one of the heaviest songs Mike ever wrote, especially lyrically. "Are You Ready" features different vocals from Mike compared to the bonus track on the s/t with guitarists Kenny Korade and Dennis Chick (ex-House of Lords). It is cool to have different versions of these tracks as they are among the most metal and powerful songs in Mike Tramp's career.
"Blame it on the Fool" kicks off the CD, which was one of the songs that didn't make it on the first CD. Lyrically it's quite self-explanatory but musically it might have needed some more work. "Where You Belong" and "Wartime" are both heavy songs where Mike Tramp explores with new lyrical ideas. Mike definitely wrote his best and most cerebral lyrics in his short-lived band FON. The second album Gathering of Freaks, in my opinion, features his best vocal performance plus most thought provoking lyric work to date, and is still by far my favourite Mike Tramp related album along with White Lion's Pride. "Dead and Gone" is one of the better songs on the album and I think it's a shame it didn't make it on the studio albums. It would have been a great fit. The unplugged versions of "What Am I" and especially "Turn the Other Way", while good in their own right, make you want to hear the studio versions on the debut CD. I think "Turn the Other Way" is an excellent song and a great album opener. Very fast and energetic compared to everything else Tramp has written before and after FON.

The two semi-ballads "I Regret" and "Can't Find My Way" are both killer works. I can't believe they were left out and I am thankful to Mike for making the effort to get them released in one form or another. Because they're too good to be left gathering dust in some vault. Tramp wrote "I Regret" about his (then) new-born son and explains he understood his dad's feelings with a son of his own. Also it's a pity FON never did this song live. Tramp would finally cover it years later as a solo artist. "Can't Find My Way" is, as Tramp puts it, "the song he enjoyed singing the most" but again it's a shame it didn't make it on the albums. This song is a true METAL song from structure to attitude to the lyrics to the music to the vocals. It is also one of the best, most emotional, and most devastasting songs of Mike ever. Lyrically it destroys me. The part where he goes "I've tried before to unlock the door…" gives me chills every time! The song slowly builds up and gains tempo and heaviness as it reaches a height where you might want to freeze forever. It's a song Mike wrote about his brother. The guitar work towards the end to this day boggles my mind. Why didn't Korade and Chick play stuff like this on the studio albums? Easily my favourite song on this CD.

Songs like "If" and "Disturbing the Peace" keep you going, especially the latter with its never-ending riffing and clocking it at over 12 minutes! It was just Oliver and his drum machine but you can feel that him and Mike were really into whatever they were doing. It's a shame this band didn't last cause there was something magical about them and they had all the potential there was to have. The reason I am rating it 4 stars is the lack of unity and somewhat raw production even though it serves the purpose of the CD quite well at times. I highly recommend you to check out the two FON albums. They are both tragically underrated and might surprise you a lot if you've never heard Mike's "darker" and "metal" sides before.

Murat Batmaz, Amazon.com