Hmm, an AOR style band influenced by Toto, Whitesnake & Queensryche (amongst others) – the promo says. I’ve listened to and enjoyed all of these bands in the past so I’m quietly optimistic when I hit the play button on this one.
The Queensryche influence is immediately evident in the vocals right from track 1 “A Better Place” with the singer Max doing his best Geoff Tate impersonation. But the song lacks the intensity that Geoff Tate manages to deliver.
4 tracks in and I’m listening out for something to set this release apart from the plethora of other AOR bands out there but I’m struggling. Skip to track 5 the ballad “A Reason To Fight” and I’m thinking that I have to listen to another 8 songs of this before getting to the end of the disc! Surely there must be something worthwhile on here right? I mean look at their influences… surely they must have picked up something worthwhile from these other bands??!!
OK look there’s nothing wrong with their playing or musicianship it just seems that every track seems much like the one that came before it. The production is spot on for a release like this but again it’s all just very predictable. There are no surprises here, nothing to set them apart from any other band in the AOR Genre. I know people that would hear this and think they’ve struck gold but for me, it oozes mediocrity.
Perfect View: Facebook
Release Year: 2012
Label: self-released
Category: Album
Country: Italy
Reviewed by Chris Xynos
