Jeff Scott Soto- Damage Control

Vocalist extraordinaire Jeff Scott Soto, whose previous credits include Journey, Yngwie Malmsteen, Talisman and W.E.T., released his latest solo album in 2012. His music remains faithful to the era that he started in: Loud, brash, 80s rock and metal.

JSS’s voice here is as powerful as it ever is, showing that despite over 30 years of singing melodic hard rock, he can still hit the high notes.

The album is well balanced with anthemic, thundering guitar tracks, complete with shredding guitar solos, and more melodic tracks which are intended to get lighters rising up in audiences.  Track by track, there are few duff numbers,

Although some may label the whole album as radio-friendly cheese-rock, complete with power ballads and ostentatiousness which wishes that 80s success would once again return- I am partial to 80s bombast, so I am not going to hold that against the album. However the album does feel nostalgic at times, almost refusing to acknowledge any musical developments since Arena Rock stopped getting significant airplay.

Lyrically, the album focuses on standard radio rock themes of love and cars, with little attempt at lyrical depth, the purpose of the songs being to get a crowd rocking, not thinking.

Overall, this is an album for the 80s written in the 2010’s. The album keeps up a rock attitude the whole way through, but does feel at times very much like a nostalgia album of a star still trying to cling onto a bygone era. The album isn't bad at all- it just feels a bit cheesy and nostalgic, and doesn't quite have the same modernised rejuvenation that some similar artists have managed in recent years.

6/10

Vega- What The Hell!

Whilst being kept firmly out of the mainstream, British melodic hard rock is in a state of great health. The number of new albums being released is increasing and younger bands are breaking through onto the scene. Vega are at the forefront of this new rise.

Opening with an eerie, circus-esque intro, not entirely in keeping with the rest of the album, Vega really kick in with the second track “White Knuckle.” This track is a lot more melodic than lots of their earlier work, moving slightly away from the harder-edged sound, with soaring vocals and thick keyboard harmonies. The chorus however is a belter, and definitely sets the tone for the rest of the album. Full of belting tracks, and heavy, melodic riffs, Vega are coming into their own, creating a loud, brash sound which retains all the big, crunchy riffs, but extends the melodic approach of the band. Instrumentally, the band is tight, as musical complexity is not at the forefront of this band’s mind, which means that the parts are kept stripped down and basic, any solos are kept short and tasteful. Rather the main focus is on the quality of the songs, all of which are big and aimed at keeping an audience on their feet.

Overall this album contains a few gems of songs (“White Knuckle” being a particular favourite), however there is little variety in the sound, which gives the album a fairly one-dimensional feel. But it’s pure rock and roll nonetheless.

7/10

FM- Rockville

Having recorded over a dozen albums in their nearly 30 year career, this latest offering from British Melodic, Arena and Album Oriented Rock veterans FM shows that, no matter what people say, the 80s are not ready to give up the ghost quite yet. This album holds many of the things that made that decade of gloriously over the top music great: Loud guitars, massive keyboards, highly sing-able melodies, power ballads that require the waving of a lighter, and Anthemic numbers which, if played on a car stereo, tend to render speed limits obsolete. This album definitely holds up to recent work of similar artists who they have shared billings with, and surpasses many.

With a good mix of huge stadium anthems obviously penned for huge audiences to get going to (The album opener “Tough Love” is a fantastic example of this), this album also includes tracks that would be equally at home played in a smaller, club gig, such as “Wake Up The World”, which shows off a more blues-based, Hard Rock edge to the band’s sound. “Show Me The Way” then goes a long way to show that FM can play a Power Ballad to rival anybody around.

The major downside of the album is the fact that it does seem to try to remain firmly in the 80s, with minimal looking forward, which, at times, makes this seem like a bit of a nostalgia album, pining for “the glory days.”

Overall, however, the album is made up of a range of meat and potatoes classic rock, exactly what you’d expect from a band as classic and long-running as this. Definitely one for those with an old-school bent to their music taste.

7/10