'Whiskysam'
'Phoenician Nights'
- Genre: 'Heavy Metal' - Release Date: '2005'
Our Rating:
Even his name rocks.
Listening to "Phoenician Nights" is like drinking shots of hard liquor; it'll create rugburns on your tongue. Whiskysam (http://www.whiskysam.com) is all about the Big Riff, his guitars like hot-wheeled tires that smoke over the asphalt.
This is classic heavy metal - no nonsense, no compromises. Before dissonant garbage such as Korn and Slipknot, metal acts were able to combine both sonic toughness with radio-ready hooks.
Just one blast of "Sexy" on "Phoenician Nights" will kick listeners back into the decadent rock & roll days of Motley Crue and Def Leppard. "I wanna feel your body heat," Whiskysam sings, his guitars dripping with lust.
But it's not all fun and games. "American Soldier" is a stirring homage to the heroes of the U.S. military. It's an anthem that packs quite a wallop, especially the "Apocalypse Now!" helicopters that burst from the speakers. On "Bin Laden," Whiskysam creates a deceptively peaceful and tender narrative that is torn asunder by fears of death.
There is some electrifying guitar playing here, especially on the epic "God of War" with its bodice-ripping solos. No headbanger should live without this.
author: Adam Harrington
Adam Harrington/Uk - whisperin&hollerin (Jan 21, 2006)
Whiskysam - Phoenician Nights
Whiskysam - Phoenician Nights
Written by Michael Sutton
It rocks. To the head bangers in the audience, thats all you need to know about Whiskysams Phoenician Nights album.
Yes, the words "it rocks" are long past clichéd and somewhat juvenile to use in a professional music review, but thats the goal of this record. To rock. To rock you all night long. To kick you in the nuts. To have buxom, scantily-clad college girls knocking on your door with a six-pack. The latter probably wont happen, but Phoenician Nights will explode from your speakers with 70s and 80s-styled raunch & roll.
Remember when Van Halen was a group that youre parents didnt want you to listen to before they actually became one they actually liked? Listen to Whiskysams "Sexy" and relish in the political incorrectness of this anthem of pure lust. However, lyrics arent really the point here. Heavy metal is about power, the thunderous crack of electric guitars and shouted choruses. And Whiskysam delivers, especially on "God of War," which will make any of todays metal wanna-bes bow to Sam Makarims fiery soloing. Makarims Mediterranean influences also give the music an exotic feel that is deeply refreshing in this genre, especially on "Bin Laden."
Although its main focus is to provide listeners a good time, Whiskysam isnt afraid of serious subject matter, chastising the enemy on "Bin Laden" and paying tribute to U.S. troops on "American Soldier."
www.whiskysam.com
Michael Sutton - CD REVIEWS.COM (Mar 23, 2006)
Interview by Karla Ash
Whiskysam: Glam Metal With A Protest Edge
On one hand, Whiskysam celebrates the kind of debauchery that the '80s spandex-metal brigade took to the bank, but there's another side to the group. Vocalist-guitarist Sam Makarim isn't afraid to confront life's darker realities, and in an interview he is just as blunt and unafraid as he is in music.
Karla Ash: How did you get your name, Whiskysam?
Sam Makarim: The Whiskysam name sucks. The original members were sitting drinking whisky three days after the band was formed. I got calls from venues, bars, etc., for bookings asking us what name do you wanna go by? The assholes picked Whiskysam, whatever.
Ash: What kind of feedback have you been getting for your song "Bin Laden"?
Makarim: Feedback about numbnuts Bin Laden have been zilch. I am not intimidated by him; they can come and face me, bunch of cowardly low-life abusers and killers of women and children. And if I get killed for standing up to them, then Beethoven, Mozart, and John Lennon made their point of view through me.
Ash: On "American Soldier," you pay tribute to U.S. troops. Were you ever in the military?
Makarim: We were never in the military. I hate armies, violence, and wars. I feel sorry for all the innocent military people and their families who get dragged into straightening out the world's problems. It really sucks, but somebody has to do it.
Ash: Do you consider yourself political?
Makarim: As you get older you get wiser and dumber, too? I wish everybody would get along. We live in a beautiful world and somebody is going to enjoy it sooner or later because there is more love and wisdom to overcome evil and destruction in every man's heart.
Ash: How long have you been a musician and what made you decide to become one?
Makarim: I was born in Nigeria from Lebanese parents, and I started playing and singing when I was eight years old. I played my first concert two months after I picked up the guitar.
Karla ash - http://www.entertainment.inuk.com/music/interview_whiskysam.html (May 28, 2006)
Whiskey Sam/Phoenician Nights
I have been seriously recording my original music this year.My band Whisky sam keeps me busy on the weekends,but what I really am shooting for is a Hit .I joined Taxi and since then I've been listening to their critique ,and redoing my better songs the way they recommended.My song Puzzle is on the radio ,about 200 stations nationwide.Thanks to all of you who have inspired and helped me through out my career..love & peace sam.for more info check out www.whiskysam.com