Reviews

Review: WITHIN TEMPTATION – Resist (2019)

Posted by tarjavirmakari on February 2, 2019
Posted in: Int. News, News, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

WithinTemptation-2018

Review by David Araneda

Artist: WITHIN TEMPTATION
Album: “Resist”
Label: Spinefarm Records
Release Date: 1st February 2019

Tracklist:
1. The Reckoning
2. Endless War
3. Raise Your Banner
4. Supernova
5. Holy Ground
6. In Vain
7. Firelight
8. Mad World
9. Mercy Mirror
10. Trophy Hunter

WithinTemptationResist

After a five-year hiatus, the Dutch masters of symphonic rock WITHIN TEMPTATION have released a new studio album entitled “Resist” via Spinefarm Records. During this long recess, the leader and vocalist Sharon den Adel had to struggle with a series of personal problems, in addition to a musical identity crisis that affected the whole band. Some fans even feared the worst with rumors of disbanding surrounding the birth of den Adel’s side project My Indigo and the release of their debut album last year. In her solo effort Sharon got a lot closer to electronic/alternative pop, very far from the symphonic influences of her main band, sowing doubt on the future of WITHIN TEMPTATION.

But luckily for their fans, the band announced last year that they were working on the long-awaited follow-up to “Hydra” (2014), starting also a European tour and confirming their presence in big summer festivals during 2019. Den Adel commented that for this new release the band would take influences from modern music but also incorporate darker elements to it. After the release of no less than four singles we would soon realize that this darkness would be reflected mainly in the themes and overall atmosphere of the music. Considering the commercial musical direction of their last couple of records, we were certainly not expecting them to make a U-turn and go back to their metal roots.

The album starts with ‘The Reckoning’, first single released last September with a futuristic videoclip. As it’s been the tendency of their last record, “Resist” also features some famous guest singers, and this time it was the turn of Jacoby Shaddix (PAPA ROACH). The sound of the song is dominated by heavy keyboard arrangements, giving it a modern touch. Sharon and Jacoby’s vocals merge nicely in a catchy, epic and melodic chorus. ‘Endless War’ is a bit of an odd-ball experiment, combining pop elements with operatic vocals, symphonic orchestrations and hip-hop vibes. It’s like NIGHTWISH and Rihanna had a kid.

‘Raise Your Banner’ comes back to the more traditional style of the band. The guest of honor is Anders Fridén, best known for his work as the frontman of Swedish band IN FLAMES. Anders’ mix of clean and harsh vocals adds more colors to the song and the chorus has a battle hymn feeling that sticks with you from the first listen. With ‘Supernova’ they get closer to a more electronic pop sound influenced by bands like MUSE. The keyboard work by Martijn Spierenburg keeps dominating the general atmosphere of the record, with playful rhythms and contagious melodies that contrast with gloomy lyrics.

In ‘Holy Ground’ they experiment again with electronic sounds and Sharon’s phrasing has a rap feeling to it at times. In this case the lyrics are a bit infantile, reminding a bit me the likes of Avril Lavigne. ‘In Vain’, another song released as a single, brings back the promised darkness into the album and is executed with mastery. The structure and melody of this song helps to make it stand out and become of the more addictive tunes in the record. In ‘Fireflight’ they make a turn towards R&B, with the contribution of Jasper Steverlinck’s guest vocals. This is one of the record’s finest duets, since their voices blend in perfectly.

‘Mad World’ is my personal favorite of the album, with an irresistible sound for someone nostalgic with 80’s pop. It is a song full of energy and even the toughest metalhead wouldn’t resist its groovy dance feeling. With ‘Mercy Mirror’ they go back to a modern radio-friendly pop sound, but which becomes a bit too predictable and repetitive. The album finishes in great style with ‘Trophy Hunter’, a heavier and more guitar-oriented song, putting the omnipresent keyboards aside for a while. Sharon’s work is impeccable here, with a catchy and effective vocal line, showing all her potential as one of the greatest female voices in rock nowadays.

To sum up, “Resist” is an entertaining and dynamic album, mixing in a superb way elements that range from symphonic rock to electronic pop. With this release, WITHIN TEMPTATION marks a complete transition from their early metal sound into one that is more accessible for a mainstream audience. Before the release of this album the band had performed half of the songs live, showing how confident they were on the quality of the material. Sharon’s voice and Spierenburg’s keyboard work remain as the most distinctive components of this unstoppable sound machine, which has managed to erase any possible questions regarding their continuity and relevance.

Rating 7.5/10

WITHIN TEMPTATION – “Resist” videos

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Review: EVERGREY – “The Atlantic” (2019)

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 22, 2019
Posted in: Int. News, News, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

evergrey_2018_TheAtlantic

Review by David Araneda

Artist: EVERGREY
Album: “The Atlantic”
Release Date: 25th January 2019
Label: AFM Records

Tracklist:

01. A Silent Arc
02. Weightless
03. All I Have
04. A Secret Atlantis
05. The Tidal
06. End of Silence
07. Currents
08. Departure
09. The Beacon
10. This Ocean

Evergrey-cover

The Swedish progressive metal lords EVERGREY bring us their eleventh studio album, entitled “The Atlantic” and released via AFM Records. This record marks the final chapter of a trilogy about the adventure of life, which started in 2014 with “Hymns for The Broken” and continued in 2016 with “The Storm Within”. The lineup of the band has remained unchanged since the beginning of this trilogy, showing cohesion within the group. During this break Tom Englund, leader and vocalist of the band, joined their American pairs REDEMPTION to replace Ray Alder in their 2018 release “Long Night’s Journey into Day”.

Regarding the concept and themes of “The Atlantic”, Tom Englund commented: “It’s about relationships, beauty and darkness, about fortune and grief, about love, hate, despair, joy and everything connected with it. Life is like a journey across the ocean, on the way to distant shores”. “The Atlantic” was produced by Englund himself together with drummer Jonas Ekdahl and was mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen. Artist Giannis Nakos was in charge of the interesting cover, dominated by shades of yellow, portraying a small boat sailing in a reckless storm, trying not to succumb to the fury of the sea.

The album begins with ‘A Silent Arc’, released already last December. The song starts suddenly with one of the heaviest riffs in EVERGREY‘s history, and as soon as the vocals come out we pay attention to the fierce vocal style of Tom. This is a very aggressive opening for the standards of the band, but after the storm comes the calm and towards the chorus this early rage dissolves into very melodic passages. It soon becomes evident that we are dealing with a band with masterful ability to control the intensity, the contrasts and the atmosphere in their music. With almost eight minutes of length, the band displays all its majesty and class in this song.

They continue with ‘Weightless’, another single for which they recorded a video clip with Jonas Ekdahl’s drums burning in flames, achieving an astonishing visual effect. The song opens with a mid-tempo hard-rock riff, progressing into a melodic and catchy vocal line, with the kind of chorus that sticks to your head from the first listen. ‘All I Have’ also starts powerfully, developing into a melancholic verse and then a chorus with almost romantic pop tones. The subtle changes of intensity and the elegance of EVERGREY‘s style prevent them from fall into clichés, keeping their musical integrity. The guitar work of Henrik Danhage and Tom Englund stands out towards the end of this track.

‘A Secret Atlantis’ sticks to the previous formula, starting in a furious and unstoppable fashion, but little by little they slow down as the song progresses. Tom Englund uses the chance to explore other areas of his register, swimming into deeper waters, but also hitting some high notes. The lyrics reflect the pain and desperation of being lost out in the ocean with the uncertainty of not knowing what the future holds. ‘The Tidal’ is a keyboard-based short instrumental where Rikard Zander shows all his skills, working as an interlude before fully entering into the second half of the album.

‘End of Silence’ is a song with a solemn mood, mixing a very nostalgic melody with sublime piano arrangements. The pace remains quite calm for most of the track, getting some momentum towards the end with an instrumental section in which the two guitars and the keyboard merge, giving birth to mesmerizing harmonies. ‘Currents’ was the third single of “The Atlantic” and works as a synthesis of the concept of the album, summarizing the comparison between life in the ocean and existence itself, with all its difficulties and sudden changes. Although lacking the charm of the other two singles, this song contains interesting keyboard arrangements, vocal harmonies and guitar solos.

‘Departure’ is one of the songs that stands out for its structure, breaking the formula to which we were getting used to. The beginning is slow, progressing little by little into more complex rhythm signatures, bursting with instrumental virtuosity. The work of bassist Johan Niemann is a highlight of this track, adding heaviness to its multiple intensity changes. Approaching the end of this trip, the album closes with a couple of songs that in my opinion do not reach the level of the previous ones. The first of them, ‘This Beacon’, in spite of its dramatic start and metaphorical lyrics, does not bring anything new to the table. To conclude, ‘This Ocean’ is a more energetic effort, but it also leaves us wanting more.

While “The Atlantic” is a record that goes from great to not so great, with a superb start but losing some gas towards the end, it’s also a release that shows EVERGREY at the top of their abilities and greatness for most of its length. There are at least four songs that are destined to become classics in their catalogue. This album will probably open their way to new horizons, as the band will soon embark on a tour that will take them through the main cities of Europe and some summer festivals, including the thirtieth anniversary of Wacken Open Air. Don’t miss them if you have the chance to catch them on the road. The Kings of Swedish progressive metal are here to stay.

Rating 7.8/10

EVERGREY – “The Atlantic” videos

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review: SOILWORK – “Verkligheten” (2019)

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 18, 2019
Posted in: Int. News, News, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

soilwork2018c

Review by David Araneda

Artist: SOILWORK
Album: “Verkligheten”
Release Date: 11th January 2019
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Tracklist:
01. Verkligheten
02. Arrival
03. Bleeder Despoiler
04. Full Moon Shoals
05. The Nurturing Glance
06. When the Universe Spoke
07. Stålfågel
08. The Wolves Are Back in Town
09. Witan
10. The Ageless Whisper
11. Needles and Kin (feat. Tomi Joutsen)
12. You Aquiver

soilwork - verkligheten (lp- & cd-cover)_4000px

The Swedish melodeath masters SOILWORK has just released their eleventh studio album entitled “Verkligheten” (“The Reality” in Swedish) via Nuclear Blast Records. For the fans of this band it’s been almost three and a half years without hearing new material from the them since the release of “The Ride Majestic” in 2015, excluding the compilation album “Death Resonance” from 2016. During this time some of the members of the band have remained quite busy in other successful projects such as the melodic rock band THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA, who have released two studio albums in this period and will be perform in the next version of Wacken Open Air.

In addition, during this recess the drummer Dirk Verbeuren left the band after twelve years to join MEGADETH, with his young twenty-six-year-old apprentice Bastian Thusgaard coming as his replacement. Another change in the line-up of SOILWORK was the departure of bassist Markus Wibom, replaced by Taylor Nordberg. The rest of the line-up remains unchanged with Björn “Speed” Strid on vocals, Sylvain Coudret and David Andersson on guitars, along with Sven Karlsson on the keyboards. Taking into account the long gap between albums, the growing popularity of THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA and the changes in the line-up, the stakes on “Verkligheten” were quite high.

The album opens with a short but peculiar instrumental introduction called ‘Verkligheten’, marking a soft and subtle start for a record that will be full of surprises. The keyboard sound merges with the beginning of the first actual song. I’m talking about ‘Arrival’, the first single released last October as a lyric video. This track shows us SOILWORK in all its splendor, with a furious melodeath sound full of futuristic elements. The chorus is epic, mixing in an exceptional way the clean and harsh vocals of Speed. The guitar duo shreds at full speed and steals the show. A great start for this long-awaited album.

Then they strike again attack with ‘Bleeder Despoiler’, which begins in a promising way with an interesting guitar riff full of groove. However, by the time the chorus arrives the song becomes a bit too predictable and repetitive, making it one of the few tracks of the album that didn’t succeed to surprise me. ‘Full Moon Shoals’, on the other hand is a lot catchier, with an almost pop chorus in which Speed´s clean vocals predominate. The sound is closer to the metalcore, which is not my favorite metal subgenre, but in the case of SOILWORK sounds very authentic. Towards the end of the song they go nuts with a fast paced section and lots of growling.

‘The Nurturing Glance’ opens with clean guitars, developing into a melodic riff and then a hard rock bridge, culminating with a catchy trademark chorus. Both Coudret and Andersson are experts when it comes to mixing different styles of guitar playing in the same song. ‘When the Universe Spoke’ repeats the formula of intro with clean guitars, but in this case it explodes into an amazing blastbeast, full of melody but also very aggressive. It’s one of the best songs of the album in my opinion. Extra points to Bastian Thusgaard, who remains precise and synchronized with the rest of the band despite the great velocity.

‘Stålfågel’ (“Bird of Steel” in Swedish) is one of the most interesting songs on the album, as it drifts away from the classic SOILWORK sound and gets closer to what we are used to with THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA. It’s a track with a retro-futuristic atmosphere, from the eighties-like keyboard sound to its striking animated video clip. Sven Karlsson’s work on keyboards is truly inspired, creating a unique, epic and apotheotic atmosphere. As a curiosity, in the background we can hear a female guttural voice, and everything suggests that it would be Alissa White-Gluz (ARCH ENEMY), but at the moment this can’t be reliably verified online.

‘The Wolves Are Back in Town’ is a correct track but it suffers for its position in the album among more outstanding songs, remaining a little unnoticed. ‘Witan’ is a song that injects some fresh air into the record, mainly thanks to its infectious chorus, one of the most effective of the album. And that is a lot to say, since these Swedes tend to put extra-cheese in their choruses. ‘The Ageless Whisper’ begins with the soft message from a girl and a relaxed pace, only to detonate into an intense display of riffs, with plenty of changes of intensity in addition to a playful chorus, full of drama. The brief instrumental interlude with jazz-fusion bits is priceless.

‘Needles and Kin’ is another fast song, full of adrenaline and with the collaboration of Tomi Joutsen from AMORPHIS. In the growling contest the Finn takes the advantage with a deeper and more powerful voice, but Speed ​​shines with his clean voices, an area that he has been able to explore without limitations in his parallel project. The regular version of the album ends with ‘You Aquiver’, a song with an almost danceable beat, very melodic and energetic. For those loyal, collector fans, the digipack and double vinyl versions also include the EP “Underworld”, which contains three unreleased songs (‘Summerburned and Winterblown’, ‘In This Master’s Tale’ and ‘The Undying Eye’), plus the original version of ‘Needles and Kin’.

In conclusion, “Verkligheten” is an extremely dynamic album, drifting naturally between countless musical genres. The variety of styles incorporated, the quality of the musicians involved, together with those catchy melodic choruses, make SOILWORK an extremely attractive band for those who keep their minds open to a musical experience beyond any expectations. Without reinventing the wheel, these Swedes have managed to mix the ingredients in the right way to come up with an entertaining album that will generate a lot of noise during this year. It probably will not be the favorite record for old-school or more traditional metal fans, but one would assume that they are not keeping track of this band anymore.

Rating: 8/10.

SOILWORK – “Verkligheten” videos:

ACCEPT: Wacken Performance Review From Fan Perspective

Posted by aliblackdiamond on August 18, 2017
Posted in: Live Report, Reviews. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

Review By Martin Curtis
Arrangement By Alison Booth

Accept Wacken Crowd Shot 2

Heavy metal giants ACCEPT recently performed at Wacken Open Air’s “Night To Remember” in front of 85,000+ fans. One of the crowd was long time English ACCEPT fan Martin Curtis, who kindly reviewed the show for us at Metal Shock Finland:

As a festival, Wacken is second to none. One of the reasons for going is because the organisers have an innate ability to make shows special, so that you feel privileged to have been there. In recent years, I have seen them do this with Doro and with Saxon, but this year’s Accept show was arguably the best yet.

Accept Wacken Stage

Accept are a band that are on an absolute high at the moment – and I am old enough to remember the Udo years. Their song writing is first class, Mark Tornillo is a vocalist with a great sound and immense energy and Wolf Hoffmann is a legend who seems to be enjoying himself more than ever. It is true that you get that combination from any show, but throw in an orchestrated set and the pleasure of seeing Wolf playing stuff from his excellent classical albums and you get some thing to be relished, all made better by that very special Wacken crowd that were lapping up every minute.

Afterwards, there was talk that the classical set was too long, or that the orchestrated set lost a bit of excitement; I disagree but, anyway, who cares?

I could write a track by track, minute by minute analysis, but that is not my style. Anyway, that is not what I will remember. My lasting memory will be of seeing a unique set by a band that are on an absolute high and at one of the world’s great festivals.

Accept Wolf Wacken Stage Shot

Photos from the official ACCEPT YouTube footage.

Review: SCAR OF THE SUN “In Flood” (2016)

Posted by aliblackdiamond on July 28, 2017
Posted in: Reviews. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

Review By Alison Booth

Artist: SCAR OF THE SUN
Album: “In Flood”
Label: Scarlet Records
Release Date: 20th May 2016

Tracklist:

1. Among Waters And Giants
2. An Ill-Fated Wonder
3. Versus The World
4. Sand
5. The Truth About The Lies
6. Enemies Of Reason
7. Walking In My Shoes
8. The Raid
9. In Flood
10. The Ghost Peril

Athens based modern metal band SCAR OF THE SUN formed in London back in 2005. Their first album “A Series Of Unfortunate Concurrencies” was released in 2011 under the production of Rhys Fulber (FEAR FACTORY, PARADISE LOST, MACHINE HEAD).

Even though the five-piece band’s second album “In Flood” was released last year, I only discovered it following their appearance as special guests on FIREWIND‘s UK “Immortals” tour, in February of this year. So impressed by SCAR OF THE SUN‘s performance in Sheffield, I contacted the band to find out more and here we are!

Recorded at the band’s own Zero Gravity Studios in Athens and engineered by vocalist Terry, “In Flood” kicks off its ten tracks with an enormous sense of atmosphere, followed by the hard hitting guitar riffs of ‘Among Waters And Giants’, setting the tone for the next 52 minutes. Terry‘s strong vocals are full of expression, altering between clean and more aggressive tones.

When it comes to the second track ‘An Ill-Fated Wonder’, I could literally listen to it time and again! From the stunning legato intro to the intensely catchy chorus along with the solid rhythm section, completed by so many different layers of sound, this is one of my favourites. Sensational!

The fast pace continues with ‘Versus The World’, not letting up for a second. SCAR OF THE SUN are hugely talented at composing the most soul grasping melodies and riffs, which flow so eloquently throughout the entire album. Slowing down a little with the thought-provoking ‘Sand’, bursting with ambience – another album highlight.

An aural shot of power takes the listener to the album’s shortest song at 3.26, ‘The Truth About The Lies’. This particularly showcases how tight and precise these musicians are, brilliant! FIREWIND‘s Bob Katsionis plays keyboards on ‘Enemies Of Reason’, enriching the flow of the song magnificently. The guitar outro is a perfect ending with a classic feel, that Schecter sings!

A surprise cover of English electronic pop giants DEPECHE MODE‘s ‘Walking In My Shoes’ works remarkably well. SCAR OF THE SUN have taken an enormously popular song and paid it the biggest compliment by retaining its essence, yet making it their own by giving it a complete metal makeover.

‘The Raid’ is quite a haunting track, the emotive music ebbs and flows throughout, leading on to the album title track ‘In Flood’. A true force of nature, this anthemic song is full of power but with a melancholic vibe. Yet it gives an overriding sense of hope and strength, especially with this part of the chorus: “Tear me down, my will you can’t subdue. I’ll survive and I’ll learn to pretend.” First-class and another favourite.

Bonus track ‘The Ghost Peril’ with more haunting melodies, completes “In Flood” perfectly. Under the band’s own and Rhys Fulber‘s production, “In Flood” is a splendid piece of work. SCAR OF THE SUN have developed and created their own totally unique sound in the world of metal, consisiting of complex modern elements which stand on their own, with no comparisons needed. The band impose no limits on their creativity and I love the fact that they are not afraid to experiment with ideas. They are currently working on album number three and I’m eager to experience the next chapter of SCAR OF THE SUN! Keep an eye on these guys, I’m looking forward to seeing them get the recognition they deserve and seeing them performing for fans around the world. I’ve listened to more bands than I can mention over the years and it takes a very special one to achieve the highest rating and be my top driving music!

Rating: 10/10

SCAR OF THE SUN are:

Terry Nikas – Vocals

Alexi Charalampous – Guitars

Greg Eleftheriou – Guitars

Panagiotis Gatsopoulos – Bass

Thanos Pappas – Drums

 

More information on SCAR OF THE SUN:

Official Website

Official Facebook Page

YouTube

Twitter

 

Review: JETSET ROYALS “Jetset Royals” (2017)

Posted by tarjavirmakari on July 14, 2017
Posted in: Int. News, Reviews. Tagged: . Leave a comment

JetSetRoyals-cover

Review by T.A. Hopkins

Artist: JETSET ROYALS
Album: “Jetset Royals”
Label: LIONS PRIDE MUSIC
Release Date, USA: May 5, 2017
Release Date, Europe: June 30, 2017

 

Tracklist:
01. Wearing It Out
02. Ship Of Fools
03. Ballad Of A Dead Man
04. Wicked
05. The Cost
06. Like I’m Dying
07. Long Way Out
08. Take This Pain
09. Sunday Morning
10. All I’ve Got
11. Devil Cried Out
12. Plastic Peace

I have been eagerly anticipating the next phase of Keith Slack’s musical journey. After excitedly chancing upon MOTHER ROAD’s “Drive” album back in 2014, then delving into his past work with MUDPIE, STEELHOUSE LANE, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, and his 2007 solo album, “Bent, Not Broken”, I was so impressed by his vocal style, musical versatility and songwriting. In the last couple of years, Keith’s life has taken some real twists and turns. Much of it has translated into a killer collection of songs on his latest effort with guitarist Gerard Garcia and bassist Micah Denzlinger as JETSET ROYALS.

Keith is a seasoned pro at drums and vocals as well as guitar, bass, and probably a few more instruments. I’m going to have to ask him about that. But he’s not one to want to run the whole show alone. As with Keith’s solo album, Gerard Garcia (ULTRAPULL, BRAND NAME COLLISION) got on board to lend his skills, talents, and to add yet another layer of color to the mix. The guys sound like nary a day has passed since then, as if they simply picked up where they left off and kept the groove going.

The band’s debut album is a heavy alternative/classic (and more) rock trip, filling up the fuel tank in south Texas and gunning on all four barrels. It’s kinda like Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, and Bad Company all got together for beer, poker, and some awesome improv, and maybe Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers stopped in to play a few rounds. Musically, the band is aggressive and in your face from the get-go with songs like ‘Wearing It Out’, ‘Ship Of Fools’, and ‘Wicked’. But don’t box them up into a neat little niche, because they’ve got places to go!

A natural at writing great melodies with irresistible hooks, interwoven with genuine blood-and guts emotion, Slack delivers distinctive, dynamic, paced and powerful vocals, and his lyrics get a little abstract at times. Or maybe not: heavy, observant, and irreverent, there’s something about those lyrics that cause the listener to think more deeply and feel a camaraderie—this man gets it. That darkness, that cynicism, frustration, pain, and thumbing one’s nose at the establishment type stuff, emotions coming to a head and vented (in a more acceptable and legal way) through Rock & Roll. Garcia and Denzlinger complement his vision wonderfully, providing the grit, the sparkle, and the flow to keep this machine in top form.

‘Ballad Of A Dead Man’ could be related to in a few different ways, especially considering the recent passing of another of our generation’s musical icons. This is the track that stays in my head on a continuous loop and refuses to leave, with no complaint from me. It’s my favorite. The middle of the album gets perceptibly more autobiographic without definitive details or names. ‘The Cost’ goes from faint to frenetic, taking the listener along for the ride. They bring it down for the introspective ‘Like I’m Dying’, and ‘Long Way Out’, despite the lyrical suggestion of being in too deep, is an instant classic, its southern flair, slide guitar and golden background harmonies making it a perfect tune during a long drive on a summer day. I can almost hear Keith sneering in ‘Take This Pain’. He makes his point! ‘Sunday Morning Rain’ evolves layer by layer, from just a man and his guitar to the full Monty. ‘All I’ve Got’ has a great Bad Company classic-rock feel. All are stark contrasts to each other musically, and yet the flow of the album is never disrupted. A stiff warning is given in steel-toed, shit-kicking, spur-laden dusty boots in ‘Devil Cried Out’, and then the band goes 180 on the funky, Zeppelin-esque ‘Plastic Peace’, a hell of a way to close out the album.

I’ve spun this album for a few friends, one of whom remarked, “It sounds like they’re all over the place!” True, just about all of the songs on this one change gears considerably. But Keith did say he was a man unafraid to paint with more than one color, and that’s evident. And I DIG IT. I really do. I think it’s important for a band to explore and experiment, yet maintain a musical identity without getting stale. See where you can take a song. Stretch its corners and boundaries a little. There are no hard fast rules. This way of putting a song together was successfully done often by bands like Queen, Styx, Paul McCartney and Wings, Meat Loaf/Jim Steinman, and others in the ’70s, and it made for a real listening experience, the kind in which one could (and should) drop everything else, sit down, and devote his or her full attention to nothing else but the music (organic enhancement was optional). Even still, JETSET ROYALS’ debut is a quick road (mind) trip; the album, engineered by Dave Donnelly at DNA Mastering, moves along at a fairly fast pace and clocks in at just under 38 minutes. And I’ve been enjoying every one of them!

Bottom line, I highly recommend JETSET ROYALS as a Rock & Roll album for the masses.

Band Members:
Keith Slack: Vocals, Drums
Gerard Garcia: Guitars
Micah Denzlinger: Bass Guitar

JETSET ROYALS is available from several merchants, including Amazon, Target, and CD Baby. But since you’re already online, jump on over to their website at http://www.jetsetroyals.com or visit their page at https://www.facebook.com/jetsetroyals .

JetSetRoyals