Weekly Hornet

Issue date: 10/3/07 Section: Entertainment

Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx is an outlandish human being. He died of a drug overdose, was resurrected, and in turn, like most rock stars, he wrote a book.

However, for Sixx just composing his diary entries into a book is not enough, he must also create a soundtrack to accompany it.

"The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack" by Sixx: A.M. is a great album; a mix of dialogue from Sixx's book and various genres of music come together to create something completely unique and new for Sixx.

The soundtrack is by the newly formed band called, Sixx: A.M. The band is comprised of Nikki Sixx (on bass of course), and friends James Michael (providing vocals, playing guitar and writing songs) and DJ Ashba (lending his skills on the guitar, as well as producing the album).

Each of the 13 tracks represents one of the chapters from Sixx's "Heroin Diaries," which come together to create a musical synopsis of the novel.

The album kicks off the madness with dialogue from Sixx called, "X-Mas In Hell," in which Sixx vividly describes a Christmas Day in '87. He's crouched naked under a Christmas tree, with a needle in his arm and watching his holiday spirit coagulate in a spoon as he writes in his diary.

At first listen, it is difficult to tell if the track actually belongs on Sixx's album, it sounds like a blend of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and "The Nightmare Before Christmas." But it works, since it is only a monologue by Sixx.

"Tomorrow" and "Accidents Can Happen" take the rocking down a notch. These two
songs are the ballads of the album, and show the sentimental side of Sixx's band.

Track six is called "Intermission" and is another monologue by Sixx. He briefly describes when he discovered his lost memoirs. The track then goes into a literal music intermission of twisted circus music, played in a rock day with wailing electric guitars.

"Tomorrow" and "Accidents Can Happen" take the rocking down a notch. These two songs are the ballads of the album, and show the sentimental side of Sixx's band.

"Dead Man's Ballet" sounds completely different from the rest of the album. The vocals sound different from the other tracks, there is a Gospel quality to Michael's voice in this song that makes it stand out from the other tracks.

In the lyrics, Sixx describes when he was rushed to the hospital when he overdosed, and his desire to survive. The song unexpectedly becomes Gospel and light, with the lyrics, "you can lead him to the ambulance, but you can't make him live."

"Life after Death," rounds out the album, as the third track of spoken word by Sixx. He opens the track with, "We're at the end and at the same time, we're at the beginning of this misadventure." The album is a wild ride through the ups and downs of Sixx's life. The album culminates with, "This is, without a doubt, my life after death."

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