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Frontiers [Release date 16.07.21]
The Resurrection Kings are less of a supergroup, and more a ragtag collection of talented musicians who struck gold at the box office a few times, but most often found their place in supporting roles.
Craig Goldy, Chas West, Vinny Appice and Sean McNabb are names that most rock and metal fans will know, but will find difficult to nail down.
Even the title of this, their second album, feels like the reworked wording of another band’s song.
Their 2016 debut was panned by the music press, and on this follow up, Frontiers have teamed up the band with its ubiquitous inhouse writer/producer, Alessandro Del Vecchio. This is not necessarily good news.
Leaden footed openers, ‘Skygazer’ and ‘Worlds On Fire’ begin to confirm our worst fears – a band plodding through their own hard rock afterlife, dragging their fading reputations behind them.
Then ‘Tears’ raises its head. Despite the riff and the tune’s familiarity, and some dodgy tuning, West dredges up a fresh vocal perspective, giving the song some vim and vigour. It might not be classic rock as we know it, but it puts the band onto a firmer footing.
And yes, ‘Fight Against Our Pride’ and ‘Is This The End’ are formulaic, but they submerge themselves wholeheartedly in the thudding machinery of metal, distracting us from the obvious moves.
‘Angry Demons’ might just be the album standout. It dives deep into 70/80′s rock/metal. It’s theatrical, wordy and pumped up, aiming at the mini epic style favoured by John Sykes’ Blue Murder.
And you could argue that ‘Saviour Of Our Souls’ and ‘Don’t Blame Our Love’ are counterfeit copies of the band’s Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple etc past. But the music still smokes and smoulders satisfyingly… even when you’re joining the dots, you can still make a decent picture. ***
Review by Brian McGowan
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