Sin and Bones is
Fozzy's third "serious" album and fifth overall, their first two being fun cover albums, filled with songs from obvious influences like
Iron Maiden,
Scorpions,
Accept, and
W.A.S.P. Note that last name, because this mighty metal machine comes courtesy of a wrestler (
Chris Jericho) and a rap-metal guitarist (
Stuck Mojo's
Rich Ward, aka
the Duke) who, along with
Dio and
Ozzy, dig
Blackie Lawless, so don't think the word "restraint" will get thrown around here much. On the contrary,
Fozzy rock over the top like
Spinal Tap never happened, as the
Alice Cooper-sized opener, "Spider in My Mouth," does the creepy kid,
M. Night Shyamalan thing with a young girl deadpanning "Itsy Bitsy Spider," right before
Jericho and company pummel the speakers with some cursed roadhouse music ("I read a book that was written in my blood/And embossed with my skin"). It's
Kiss-sized ambition, Jack Kirby comics come to life, and a soundtrack worthy of the most mammoth of video games as lead single "Sandpaper" combines
Cowboy Troy with
DragonForce for some new kind of horned beast, rapping and roaring while high on moonshine. When it comes to the power ballad, "Inside My Head" is more "God of Thunder" than
Nickelback since
Fozzy are tortured like the Hulk or Swamp Thing were tortured, and there will be no emo-kid sniveling.
Jericho mentioned that this was
Fozzy's "Black Album," throwing some metal fans into a message-board tizzy because that 1991 masterpiece is really called
Metallica, but since
Mastodon went astral,
Dio passed, and
Ghost are just so mysterious,
Fozzy serve a purpose, getting metal fans to that
Frank Frazetta place in a riff or two, while offering some modern twists that can be taken as fun, shameless, or both.