Anthems Of A Degeneration is the eagerly awaited debut album from local lads Million Dollar Reload, and all I can say is that it was worth the wait. Having seen them live several times now, it was great to stick on the record and immediately recognise tracks such as Goodnight New York and Fire Your Guns; which perhaps highlights the quality of M$R’s live performances.

At fifteen tracks long it’s fair to say that it’s an ambitious album, but upon first listen it didn’t feel like it had as many songs as that at all. At the moment my favourite tracks would have to be Livin’ In The City and Tattoos And Dirty Girls. But tomorrow they could be Cold Hard Day or Get It Up, or something else entirely- every song has the potential to be my favourite as there really isn’t a dud track on the album. While most of the songs are full-on rock and roll with touches of Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, and AC/DC; tracks like The Last Icon and Travel show a slower side to the band’s music and demonstrate that they are just as good at the ballads as they are the high energy songs.

It’s clear that M$R have gone all out for this record, and given 100%. This is perhaps most evident on the closing track Travel. It’s a huge ballad with a memorable chorus- I can imagine an epic November Rain-esque accompanying video already! It should really end up on one of those ‘Greatest Driving Anthems’ type CD’s that HMI like to guiltily wail along to under the pretense that we can actually sing.

While Anthems Of A Degeneration is rock record, it contains songs that would be accessible to anyone, whether they are a rock fan or not. It’s this fact that could maybe lead to a wider appeal for Million Dollar Reload, and with the quality of songs here, it would be fully deserved.

The five guys have really made an album to be proud of, and you have to think that with Northern Irish bands such as The Answer steadily gaining recognition, it must only be a matter of time before Million Dollar Reload begin to get the same level of attention.

9/10
Suzie