Archon Angel is a new band project from producer/guitar player Aldo Lonobile (Secret Sphere) and former Savatage and Circle II Circle vocalist Zak Stevens, the two met during their time recording Timo Tolkki's Avalon's Return To Eden album. They discussed a project with Frontiers and here it is the debut release from Archon Angel. Now there is a very deliberate attempt to recreate the sound of one of Stevens' previous bands, that band being the legendary American metal juggernaut Savatage,m Aldo, Zakk and the co-writers of this record Simone Mularoni (DGM and Sweet Oblivion) and Alessandro Del Vecchio (Edge Of Forever, Jorn, Hardline, everything Frontiers related) have tried to stay as true as they can to the bombastic metal sound of Savatage, albeit with some Religious lyricism that focuses on the system of Gnosticism, especially the idea of a modern day Archon (messenger of God).
It's certainly brought the conceptual nature of Savatage's lyrics to this album but do they manage to capture that brilliance of the brothers Oliva? Well let's start with the title track the first track; big pianos and orchestrations? check, soulful vocals? check, broad guitar riffs? check. That's pretty much Savatage sound nailed, yes it's a slow start but business picks up with The Serpent full of double kicks and a heavier sound yet still having the full orchestral sound. Rise gets the pulse racing with some rockier riffage while Twilight brings symphonic metal mastery and a killer guitar Chris Caffery-like guitar solo. Now I will say for those who know their Savatage, Archon Angel are very much in the latter Stevens fronted style rather than the earlier Jon Oliva fronted band, still they channel the best of one of America's best metal bands well with the dramatic Who's In The Mirror a stand out. Basically if you love Savatage then you will want this album! 8/10
Starbenders: Love Potions (Sumerian Records) [Matt Bladen]
Starbenders: Love Potions (Sumerian Records) [Matt Bladen]
Grab your stacked heels and flared trousers as Starbenders are bringing punky glam rock back, though they've manipulated it through the lens of modern art rock Looking like they are fresh out of those heady days when Bowie, Slade and The Sweet ruled the airways and fronted by the irrepressible Kimi Shelter (vox & guitar), who's take no prisoners attitude and vivid, multi-hued dress sense inform everything about this band, from the poppy choruses full of open chord riffs, to the strutting rock n roll sound of the burgeoning New York or Detroit scenes. Love Potions is a swaggering paean to the glory days of when rock was full of glitter and grit, numbers like Getting Harder rock away but Precious has an almost emo-disco feel to it Kimi's ravaged voice in synch with that of Remington Leith of Palaye Royale.
The sexually charged Holy Mother is driven by the thumping bass of Aaron Lecesne as the snarling Bitches Be Witches takes its cue from Stevie Nicks with the acoustic scrubbing, Emily Moon's big drum sound and Kriss Tokaji's lead break, he also shimmers on London where we get almost a Brit Rock style slide solo. Now at various places, they are about as far from a glam rock band as you can get, Love Potions is the pumping amalgamation of Bowie, Queen, Nicks, Bjork and even some modern Muse thrown in. A 14 track journey through the mind of Shelter, it grabs you by the lapels and drags you through a kaleidoscopic tunnel of rock n roll. 8/10
Stone Temple Pilots: Perdida (Rhino Entertainment) [Paul Hutchings]
2018’s second self-titled album was the Stone Temple Pilot’s first album with singer Jeff Gutt who joined the band in 2016. It was a decent release which I enjoyed. Album number two, written by Gutt with brothers Dean (guitar) and (bassist) Robert DeLeo, and eighth overall sees a shift in direction with a fully acoustic stripped back release. Barely an electric guitar in sight or sound. Perdida means loss in Spanish. Is it the band’s cathartic response to the death of Scott Weiland and Chester Bennington? Or is it an identity crisis which the band find themselves in, direction wise? It certainly has a melancholic feel to it without being over sombre. Fare Thee Well opens the album and sets the scene, whilst Three Wishes sees Gutt demonstrate his strong voice, accompanied by simple percussion and DeLeo’s sensitive guitar playing. Flashes of the trademark STP sound emerge through the album but this is a distinct departure which may well divide opinion amongst the band’s fan base. Perdida adds a Latin edge to proceedings, delicate and gentle.
The problem is that by I Didn’t Know The Time arrives, Robert DeLeo tinkling keys and the arrival of flute aside, this is already becoming a little generic. There is little to suggest this is the band who ripped up the 1990s with those ragged riffs. Zeppelin style acoustic style guitars on songs such as She’s My Queen provide a 70s feel but Gutt’s delivery cries out for a more dynamic approach, to stand out and make the song his. Years is thin and weak, not helped by Robert DeLeo’s vocals, whilst Miles Away is similarly bland with the fiddle merely pushing it further away. With a host of musicians adding backing vocals, keyboards, saxophone and viola, as well as Deleo’s marxophone, this could have been an interesting release. By the time you reach You Found Yourself Whilst Losing Your Heart, a limp effort which cries out for William DuVall to take by the scruff of the neck, it’s likely that disappointment will have kicked in. An opportunity that may have been missed. Let’s hope that the return to the electric sound will be an improvement next time around. 6/10
Moon Reverie: Moon Reverie (Rockshots Records) [Simon Black]
You sometimes know from the opening seconds, that this is an album that ticks your boxes. So let’s be clear, if European Neo-Classical Progressive/Power Metal is not your thing, you may want to skip to the next review. If like me, you’re a geek for this sort of thing, strap yourself in. This is the solo project of Italian guitar virtuoso Luca Poma, finally stepping into the limelight after many years of providing the supporting licks for the likes of Uli Jon Roth, Vinnie Moore and too many more to name. It’s refreshing that this genuinely is a ‘solo’ album, as apart from the drum work and some supporting keyboards/back-up vocals, this is all the work of the man himself, so for me has that genuine feel to it that reminds me of how impressed I was when Joe Satriani first went Surfing. But when it comes to the music, this is something else entirely. Luca also has a remarkably good singing voice (yup, he does the lead vocals too) – rich and melodic, and more than capable of heading up to the roof to strip the paint off the ceiling with the best symphonic / power voices (think of Stratovarius’ Timo Kotipelto when being subtle, from whom he’s a dead ringer for on acoustic ballad Far Above).
However, this album notably avoids the trap of veering into the self-indulgent overlong epics, whilst still showing off the man’s blistering ability to shred when required in the solos and bridge licks, giving you just enough virtuosity to make you sit up and notice, without turning you off by going too far. Song-wise, there is some good structuring going on here, but I am struggling to find a stand out signature song here, although single Eyes tries its best to be the anthemic powered hit that you need to move forward in this game, but it's for solid Power ballad In My Heart that I can most envisage a myriad of phone torches waving along to in a field in Germany sometime this summer. These songs are the length they need to be, and are the stronger for it, with only one instrumental epic, where it belongs, at the end as the finale to an album that is well worth a listen to. 7/10
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