Bad Things - Age of Wisdom (2010)

...This long awaited debut album features songs that deal with life's struggles such as prison, drug addiction, war, and bad relationships. The album kicks off with 'Prison Train' which is the story of a guy who makes one mistake and finds himself on his way to prison. Despite his clean record, he falls victim of the system and is shown no mercy. The next track, 'Killing Time' can really mean different things to different people, but basically it deals with someone who's lost so-to-speak and as result becomes withdrawn, nearly slipping into madness or depression and therefore is seen by others to be just wasting their life, or killing time. 'Jack the Ripper' is about exactly what the name implies, the legendary serial killer who terrorized London's East End in the the late 1800s. Written from the viewpoint of 'Jack the Ripper' himself, it explores the possible theory that there was more meaning to his killings than just bloodlust, possibly seeing himself as taking the law into his own hands and battling the immorality of prostitution and drunkeness that was becoming a problem in London around that time. We've all often wished we had the power to change things in our world today, whether it be the struggling economy or the constant threat on our most basic rights, etc. Which is basically what 'Revolution Man' is talking about. He's often faced with the problem though that for everything that may change for the good of some, it may have a negative impact on others, creating an inner turmoil. 'Where Few Have Tread' takes you into the mind of a soldier trying to rationalize and cope with his job to kill. Another sort of 'inner turmoil' type song. 'Numb' is dealing with drug addiction, or any addiction for that matter. In the chorus, he gives us a clue as to the purpose of his addiction, it's grasping for a means of escaping the pain he's experiencing in life, or to simply be numb to it all. And of course, there's a little talkbox thrown in to pay homage to Mr. Frampton! The next track is the unexpected ballad, 'Flame Burns Out.' This is of course not a love song but quite the opposite, as it deals with a break-up and accepting it's over. The song is accented very nicely with Donnie Creitz providing his excellent Allman-esque slide guitar work and Sondra Casey of Chuk Cooley & the Demon Hammers makes a guest appearance playing the flute. After the ballad, things pick back up in classic blues-based hard rock fashion, ala AC/DC, Rhino Bucket, & Junkyard to name a few, with 'Better Than You' which is a little tongue-in-cheek stab at that significant other that you've just had enough of their crap. So it's time to pour a drink, or whatever you need, and tell them to hit the road! 'P.O.D.' is about the horrors and politics of war. 'The Prince Of Darkness' is a sort of play on words in regards to the way the world's rulers play their games with people's lives, considering us nothing more than pawns in their chess game, much the same way the real 'prince of darkness' does. This song seems to reflect a little of the classic metal & hard rock influences of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and maybe even a little AC/DC mixed in. The ending title track sums it all up with the realization that it's these struggles that make us wiser as we get older, 'til finally you reach that 'Age of Wisdom.' But make no mistake, there's plenty of hard hitting rock 'n roll groove to keep you banging your head and playing air guitar, not to mention some killer slide guitar work that will conjure up visions of Duane Allman. It all ends with an outro than signifies the release from prison, with a lot of lessons learned and the realization that a lifetime has passed since his lockup at the beginning of the album.