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DAWN IRWIN review on Fireworks Magazine :

Crank It Up - Andersson/Mills Project - Z Records Review by Dawn Irwin When Swedish guitar genius Linkan Andersson (Zoodrive, Livin' Parazite) heard that one of his original 80's heroes was looking for some songs for a solo album, he didn't have any idea that it would turn into a full blown project. A couple of late nights later, two hastily written tracks landed in the inbox of Tony Mills (TNT, Shy, Siam), and they turned out to be just what he was looking for. Tony duly penned the lyrics, recorded the vocals and sent them back to Linkan who was so fired up with what he heard that he endured several more late nights and voila! five more songs arrived through the ether. It was at that point that Tony suggested that they collaborate on what we now know as the Andersson/Mills project and this excellent album that consists of 12 songs of unbridled punk rock 'n' roll. The first spin was like a terrorist assault, resonating deep within my auditory canals, with jagged, metal crushing guitars, and vocal histrionics ranging from raw wails to bellows from the pit of the gut. The sheer potency of the songs is intoxicating, a sound entirely reminiscent of the Detroit scene in the early 70's, in particular the sabre toothed fury of the Stooges (albeit not as shambolic). They've even covered Iggy and the Stooges' Search and Destroy which is every bit as good as the original. However, unlike the Asheton brothers who were still in the process of mastering their instruments when they got their major deal, Andersson is self taught since the age of 10, influenced by the usual suspects (Blackmore, Frehley) and is a remarkably gifted musician, playing all guitars, acoustic guitar on Anyone and bass on every track except Straight from the Heart (featuring former Livin' Parazite bandmate Martin Karlsson). He also plays piano on Bleeding Heart and closing ballad Hard to Beat and to top it off has the ability to write a darn good tune or three. Tony Mills demonstrates a sleazier, much rawer side to his classic melodic rock vocals as well as taking charge in the lyric writing department. I wanted to steer clear of track by track territory, nevertheless, here is a quick synopsis of some of the highlights: the title track features classic haramonic riffing as typified by U2's The Edge and defines the album from the outset; Skin and Blood is pure punk and sure as hell to be regarded as highly offensive to a traditional melodic rock audience (great!). On Search and Destroy Tony abandons his phenomenal vocal technique and sings it as it should be sung – raw as fuck only with modern production. Smile has a great hook and chorus and combines all their influences into their own unique sound. Nothing but Poison is reminiscent musically of the title track, but is lyrically a vitriolic indictment of love gone vile. On subsequent plays, I began to identify that from Head On Collision the album has a distinct change of pace with less abrasive guitar sounds and more keyboards, in fact, somewhat reminiscent to these ears, of the New York Dolls, but with a more modern approach which will appeal to fans of the likes of Coldplay and Placebo. Hard to Beat slows the tempo right down and Bleeding Heart is as close to a ballad as you'll get on this album, unfortunately the drum sound has a certain unfinished quality to it. This, however, is only a minor criticism of what is otherwise an excellent album The most astonishing thing about it is that the two collaborators have yet to meet – the entire process took place via the internet! Rarely has an album written under these circumstances resulted in such mutual inspiration and strength of finished product. If there was any justice this should develop into a classic songwriting partnership. Sonically they present very intense, hard, alternative music with the angst of punk, the power of metal and the raunchiness of rock'n'roll. Well worth cranking up, ripping off your shirt and getting wasted to – just avoid rolling in broken glass!