Lion Music 2013
Spanish foursome hit the corners on their fourth album while caressing the melodic metal’s palate.
As original as their “living on the edge” chorus goes, this quartet know the ’80s hard rock rules too well to never stray from the beaten path, yet that chorus – and the rest of ’em – are so hookful that the generic vibe takes the back seat on quite a bumpy ride. It’s not that easy to register with the superficial tension of “Start Again”, but once Inaki Lazcano’s occasional Coverdale-isms inject blues into the band’s vein, real feelings kick in. And if prefacing the anti-genocide message of vocal harmonies-helped “Gone Too Far” with the relation-tearing “Rescue Me”, where Robert Rodrigo shoots out with an infectious guitar solo, feels too wrong, the strain of piano-driven “I Don’t Care” blows away any indifference there might be.
With orchestral potential behind “Dead Inside” and the beautiful “Reach For You”, and Danny Vaughn adding his voice to the choogling title track, pleasant moment are aplenty here, but they don’t linger in the memory for long. Closer “Latest Prophecy” almost rectifies that leaving the aftertaste of unfulfillment. Still, it’s good while it lasts, so the real change is yet to come.
***4/5