Album review: REVOLUTION SAINTS – Against The Winds

Frontiers [Release date 09.02.24]

Album number five from Revolution Saints, the band led by Journey vocalist/drummer Deen Castronovo who first debuted in 2015. Revolution Saints had a major line-up change back in 2022 with Deen Castronovo joined by Foreigner bassist Jeff Pilson and guitarist Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake, Night Ranger). Last year’s resulting album, ‘Eagle Flight’, was pretty forgettable unfortunately, lacking the spark and catchy choruses of their earlier albums.

On the second album in as many years from this revamped line-up, Frontiers ‘go to’ musician, songwriter & producer Alessandro Del Vecchio is involved again. He’s responsible for most of the songwriting and production, as well as providing the album’s keyboards and backing vocals. Overall the album is a big improvement on ‘Eagle Flight’ and certainly worth a listen if you were put off by that album and had given up on the band so to speak.

Journey is never far from the Revolution Saints sound, none more so than one of the album’s lead songs ‘Changing My Mind’. This one could have come off any Journey album since Arnel Pineda joined that band.

Joel Hoekstra adds some guitar clout to ‘Fall On My Knees’, with a tasty keys motif courtesy of Alessandro Del Vecchio. The backing vocals are a thing of Journey like beauty too. Hoekstra shines again on ‘Been Said and Done’. Whiff of the ‘Snake on the guitar solo.

‘When Will I See You Again’ has the feel of Journey circa ‘Frontiers’ or ‘Raised On Radio’. Tasty, keyboards led up-tempo rocker that nods back to that classic mid-80s Journey sound.

Deen Castronova certainly has the vocals for the big ballads, although ‘Can’t End It Right Now’ is a tad too cookie cutter AOR balladry.

Better than their last album, however, not a patch on their self-titled debut album and the follow-up, ‘Light in the Dark’. Nice melodic rock but not an album you’ll come back to much in the months & years to come one feels. ***

Review by Jason Ritchie

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)