Members of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Racer X, and KISS played on this band. Bandlands is blues flavored rock, that is raw and laden with emotion. The late Ray Gillen's voice is perfectly suited to the genre, displaying a wide tonal range, in a variety of styles, from all out rockers to slow bluesy ballads. His ability to infuse genuine feeling into the music, is one of the keys to its appeal. Song topics are down to earth, gently influenced by themes from the American frontier. This is music that taps into the roots of blues based hard rock. Beside Gillen's vocal talents, Badlands also features the considerable skills of guitarist Jake E. Lee, the man who came to replace Randy Rhodes in Ozzy Osboune's band. The frenetic energy that powered such metal classics as "Journey to the Center of Eternity", "Rock and Roll Rebel" and "Bark at the Moon", are channeled into a completely different direction. The results, while perhaps not as manic, are still very powerful in a different way. Instead of starting at full throttle, more often the energy and tension are allowed to build, before being released. Lee's tone, style, and phrasing, bear little similarity to his playing with Ozzy, but his desire to play this type of music was the reason he left Osbourne's band. With a cleaner tone, Lee's fluid playing style can more easily be heard, and appreciated. Rounding out the band, is a solid rhythm section. Eric Singer energetically handles the drumming duties, and Greg Chaisson mans the bass. Put simply, Badlands rocks hard with feeling.Except for the instrumental, Jade's Song, dedicated to Lee's daughter, the songs are about evenly divided between up-tempo rockers, and slower bluesy numbers. Among the best tunes are "Streets Cry Freedom", which features Gillen's haunting vocal. As the song builds, Lee's guitar takes flight, including a spacey side guitar solo. "High Wire" finds Badlands brand of blues, closest to the traditional hard rock format. "Rumblin' Train" is a fun bluesy track, that will have you stomping your feet as it chugs along, with Gillen and Lee stoking the engine to the end of the line. "Dancing on the Edge", opens with a muted scratching riff that progresses into one of the album?s faster numbers. Lee's solo is energetic, full of twists and turns, with a flurry of pulloffs, reminiscent of this playing with Ozzy. With song structure that is all over the map, the untraditional blues of "Devil's Stomp" is perhaps the collection's most musically intriguing tune. "Seasons" is the best of the slow numbers, a beautiful song that features one of Ray Gillen's finest vocals. The mood is reminiscent of Zeppelin, with an American flavor.Badlands' brand of gut level rock, wasn?t really aimed at the typical teenage "headbanger", and didn't quite fit into the metal scene of the time. The singles "Winter Calls", and "Dreams in the Dark", did not find much of an audience, and though the band did produce a second album, "Voodoo Highway", the untimely death of Ray Gillen put an end to the band. If bluesy, hard rock is your thing, strap on your gun belt, adjust your hat, step outside into the noontime sun, and check out Badlands.