From what I gather this is based around guitarist
Tom Jude (ex-Doro), bassist Freddy Villano (ex-Quiet Riot/Widowmaker) and
drummer Bobby Marks, while prominent guests fill the other spots. When I see
names like Jimmy Kunes (Cactus), John West (Artension, Badlands) and Mike DiMeo
(Riot, The Lizards etc) I instantly get interested. Well, I’m happy to say the
album opener Obsession features singer Ed Terry, who is just as interesting. The
track is a cool riff-oriented hard rocker with a funky touch. It also shows the
band has a cool groove and a tight sound, plus guitarist Tom really rips the
leads! Great stuff! Second track Every Time is a more straight ahead southern
rocker with Kunes stretching his vocal cords like only he can. Next up is John
West, whose voice may not be as raspy, but instead he adorns this Bad Company
style Brit rocker with a more Paul Rodgers:y blues feel. Up-tempo blues rocker
Death & Destruction introduces another outstanding singer in Don Chaffin
(Red Lamb), who sounds confusingly close to Rufus Huff’s Jarrod England, whose
voice I totally love! So far, four outta four! And, it just keeps on! This is top-notch
bluesy melodic rock with a strong British seventies vibe. There’s also a cover
of Stevie Wonder’s Living For The City, featuring singer Dave Knight, who sadly
committed suicide in 2014. This one sounds as if the mid-seventies Foreigner
had put their teeth into it. A total ripper! There’s even a hit hidden in
there! The Sky Is Falling sounds like something fans of late seventies melodic
rock, such as Balance, early Survivor or the aforementioned Foreigner, would
embrace. Nice melodic hooks indeed! This is really an awesome album which made
this a throwback Wednesday reminding me of the great late seventies melodic
rock and the long forgotten odd gems by bands like Buxx, Target, Morningstar,
Hero, Fortnox, Russia, Oakley etc. You won’t see this one leaving my CD player
any time soon!
Janne Stark
Year: 2014
Country: USA
Label: Grooveyard Records
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