Sweet Sybil
S/T

September 2010
Released: 2010, Eonian Records
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: Erich

Sweet Cybil is another glam, sleaze rock band from Chicago that has found new life via Eonian Records. The band formed in 1988 and built a local following which allowed them to share the stage with some big acts in the early 90s such as Alice In Chains, King’s X, and Enuff Z’Nuff . Their debut EP hit #1 in the Netherlands and was well-received in Europe, but naturally was completely lost in the States amongst the grunge take-over.



SWEET CYBIL is a slightly more experimental album than the hair metal that was on the airwaves at the time, fusing sleaze metal with glam and Enuff Z’ Nuff’s unique sound. Now that I hear more of these Chicago bands, the sound might have been part of the scene and Enuff Z’Nuff was the only one to garner moderate success, so to my ears they all sound similar to Enuff. Opening track “Remember When” is a worthy melodic rocker in which singer Sam Carava channels Donny Vie with a catchy chorus, reminiscent of Poison. “Downtown Suicide” is a dirty sleaze metal track, while “69” has a ska feel, complete with horns and a Mighty Mighty Bosstones vibe. The rest of the album is competent melodic metal and glam, the band restrained in the execution, choosing to focus more on the song than the flash. Mostly, this approach works as SWEET CYBIL is quite a listenable album.



Bands like SWEET CYBIL undoubtedly were hurt by grunge and probably by not being an L.A. band, but the fact is that this is a tier or two below the bands that were tearing it up at the time, like Motley Crue, Skid Row, Ratt, and so on. It is great to hear these forgotten bands and if you have overplayed the above mentioned stalwarts, then you should give SWEET CYBIL a spin for a trip down memory lane. However, if you miss them this time around as well your life will not be impacted in any way.