by Alex Henderson
Johnny Crash was never known for being innovative. The hard rockers' style -- a strong AC/DC influence with touches of Aerosmith and Guns 'N Roses -- was anything but groundbreaking. In the late 1980s and early '90s, countless other hard rock bands fit that description. Crash, however, sounded much more confident and authoritative than its competition. Neighborhood Threat may not be the world's most experimental CD, but when Crash lets it rip on such catchy, testosterone-driven rockers as "Axe to the Wax," "No Bones About It" and "Thrill of the Kill," (male) lead singer Vicki James Wright (a disciple of AC/DC's Bon Scott) and lead guitarist August Worchell sound genuinely inspired. Neighborhood Threat doesn't come across as the result of a major-label marketing meeting, and one gets the impression that they were playing this type of music simply because it was in their blood.