Embedded Files
HARDLINE “Shout”
HARDLINE “Shout”
By Colonel Angus
Even though I love my metal, I also love bands like FOREIGNER, R.E.O. SPEEDWAGON, and JOURNEY. The latter featured one of my favorite guitarists, so when I learned he was back with a new band, HARDLINE, in 1992, checking it out was a no-brainer. Sure enough, it was a cranker, delivering a hard-edged take on JOURNEY's melodic rock sound and I played that disk to death. After a great start like that, nothing happened and by the time their second record came out, I was off checking out other bands (and they were not grunge bands as that is NOT one of my favorite genres). I feel that they lost all momentum and the line-up changes (Schon was replaced by Josh Ramos) didn’t help either.
After all these years, I am back staring at their latest disk to review and wondering if they are able to capture any of the magic of their debut. Happily, “Shout” is full of quality material pretty much all the way through. The record starts with the title track and it is exactly what you want from these melodic rockers. It is full of melodic riff and soaring vocals with just a tasteful hint of keyboards. They don’t let up with the second tune “Rise Up”. That continues the same template as the previous tune without copying themselves.
If you want some hard edged riffing, the stomping “It Owns You” is just what the doctor ordered. The chorus is so catchy that you will have it in your head for days. Next, you get the obligatory ballad “When You Came Into My Life” but they pull it off without the sappiness that most ballads fall into. The quality of the songwriting lifts this track and the guitar work from Luca Princiotta helps a great deal as well. Keyboards are at the forefront of “Mother Love” but it has this great moody 80s vibe. As with most of the material on “Shout”, the choruses are extremely catchy and you can’t help but hum along to each track.
The band veer off into harder territory with the strutting “Rise Above No Fear” and this is where I think their sweet spot is located. While I really enjoy some of HARDLINE’s mellower stylings, I feel they really rise above with their rockier material. That 80s sound comes back with the keyboard intro of “Candy Love” but it has this cool start/stop verse structure that gives the album some variety. It’s a strutting rocker that is a nice surprise towards the end of the disk. The record ends with three tracks that are good but lack the quality of the previous material. “I’m Leaning On It” is a quick melodic rock track and while it has all the elements needed for a great song, it lacks the x-factor to make the final cut. Album closer “Glow” is another ballad but where “When You Came Into My Life” steered clear of the pitfalls of most ballads, “Glow” embraces it wholeheartedly. Sadly not my cup of tea.
My final verdict is that HARDLINE have made a record that they should be proud of and their fans should purchase. There is more than enough material to sink your teeth into and the quality of high throughout. Some of the tunes towards the end fell slightly short for me but they are still well crafted songs that most bands would be ecstatic to have in the catalogue. I have to admit that based on “Shout”, I may have to check out their older records that I have missed out on.
Report abuse