The Heroin Diaries Soundtracks is a set of 13 great tracks written and Composed by Nikki Sixx (of Motley Crue fame), DJ Ashra and James Michael. Each of the songs in this album is highly personal, and deals with Nikki's addiction to Heroin and subsequent rehabilitation. The lyrics are dark and offer the most insightful peep into the workings of a junkie's mind. The songs are based on the Diaries Nikki kept during his addiction, and as a result, are highly personal and highlight his battle with Heroin addiction, his paranoia and his loneliness.
Few songs can get as personal as "X-Mas in Hell", which shows the loneliness and the intense paranoia that Nikki was going through:
"Merry Christmas.
That's what people say at Christmas, right?
Except normally they have someone to say it to.
They have friends and family,
And they haven't been crouched naked under a Christmas tree
with a needle in their arm like an insane person in a mansion in Van Nuys"
"I didn't speak to a single person today."
"I've started a new diary and this time I have a few new reasons.
One, I have no friends left.
Two, so I can read back and remember what I did the day before.
And three, so if I die, at least I leave a nice little suicide note of my life"
"Van Nuys" is a brooding song, with the trademark depressive tone that sets the tempo for the rest of the album, interspersed with hard drums and shrill guitar riffs.
The nest song, "Life is Beautiful", starts off slow, almost unnoticeably picking up from where "X-Mas in Hell" leaves off, and picks up extra heaviness and soft vocals, soon to be followed by the intense chorus, and ends abruptly, in anticipation of the next song, "Pray for Me" .One of my favorite songs from the album.
"Pray for Me" is fast paced, almost alien to hear after the first three songs, but the tempo and the intense lyrics soon make you forget all that, as you tap your feet and bang your head to the rhythm.
After the abrupt ending of "Pray for Me", "Tomorrow" picks up with a relaxed tempo, and you can feel the gloom lighten up as the lyrics slowly fill your head with hope- expected from a song which talks about looking back and trying to make better the mistakes already made:
"Are you waiting for the reason to change?
Are you waiting for the end, has it came?
Nothing's gonna stand in your way..."
After setting up a lighter tone with "Tomorrow", "Accidents can Happen" is almost consolatory, and urges one to realize that bad things happen to everyone, and it is up to one to pick up the pieces and move on, and that there is still hope:
"And you know that accidents can happen
And it's okay,
We all fall off the wagon sometimes
It's not your whole life
It's only one day
You haven't thrown everything away."
A great song this one.
At this point, you are actually half way through the album, and thus the appropriately titled "Intermission". It is not so much of a song, as a soliloquy, accompanied with music. With only 2.20 seconds of play time, this'll probably be over before you even notice.
The next song, "Dead Man's Ballet" picks up on a new note, and is an intense, and both slow and fast paced song, though somehow, I didn't like it as much as I did the other songs.
"Heart Failure" starts of with a retrospective spoken verse, and then suddenly explodes into shouting. Angry, this is what this song is.
"Girl With Golden Eyes" is my most listened -to song from this album- slow paced, dark and brooding, yet somehow, very reassuring.
"Everything will be okay
Everything will be alright
If I can get away from her
And save my worthless life."
The next song is "Courtesy Call", fast-paced and the longest after "Dead Man's Ballet". However, this is probably the one song that stands out from the album, in terms of music and lyrics. You've gotta listen to it to know what I'm talking about here. One of my favorites.
"Permission" is again a slow song, with dark notes, and is almost depressing and apologetic, apt for a song which is almost at the end of the album, and by this time, you'll be sorry to see the album wrap up. The words linger on, and somehow, you just don't want the song to finish. Considering that the next song, "Life after Death" isn't exactly a song, this might as well be called the last song, in which case, it is almost a permission to wind up the show. Love this one too.
"Life After Death" is like "Intermission", only much heavier, and has more of a message than the latter. At this point, the album is logically complete, and you are reminded that this isn't actually an end, but a new beginning.
On the whole, a great album, and highly recommended.
Click on the "The Heroin Diaries" in the" currently seeding" list to download.
