Resurrection Kings is another supergroup project from the minds of Frontiers Records and the production/writing hand of Alessandro Del Vecchio. It’s a similar formula to the similarly named Revolution Saints.
Alessandro Del Vecchio continues to grow in stature as a producer. This album has a big hard rock sound that is harder edge and rawer than his Revolution Saints production. The material also lends itself more to American hard rock than the more melodic tones of Rev Saints.
Of course, part of that is down to the fired up delivery of vocalist Chas West (Bonham/Lynch Mob). Joining the star vocalist is an equally impressive lineup of names: Craig Goldy (Dio/Giuffria) shredding and riffing in such fine company as the rhythm section of Sean McNabb and Vinny Appice.
The album starts strong, but I’m not sure it holds together as well towards the end. The material becomes a little too familiar and I’m not sure why, but Chad West’s vocals throughout seem to always be at maximum volume. There isn’t a lot of light and shade here and by the end of the album, I’ve definitely heard enough.
Distant Prayer is a heavy, somewhat bombastic opener with a surprisingly commercial chorus and hook. I love the pace of the track, really gets the album off to a flyer.
Livin' Out Loud is much slower and finds itself in that heavy, slow groove that metal often uses –and I hate. Thankfully there’s a strong chorus in play and the song fits quite well between two faster tracks. If it wasn’t for the memorable chorus, this track really would have killed momentum,
Wash Away is pure commercial hard rock. A free flowing vibe and a big chorus and melodic verse. Very catchy and although miles heavier than Giuffria, it has a certain melodic kinship with the AOR legends.
Who Do You Run To has a classic 80s guitar squeal to kick it off and is another pretty commercial track, with a mid-tempo beat. It’s not a ballad but not quite a rocker either. But solid with another pretty decent chorus.
Fallin' For You is a moody mid-tempo tune that definitely reminds me of David Reece’s solo material. Big, moody, loud, but catchy in a metal kinda way. Some impressive guitar work within the 6 minute track.
Never Say Goodbye is as it suggests – a big commercial rock ballad. West soars, the chorus goes with him and AOR fans will enjoy this. The guitars still manage to shred behind the vocals.
Path Of Love is the kind of track I don’t normally like – slow, bluesy, big groove. It has musical integrity and some fine chops on display, but these types of song rarely have a great chorus. This one ain’t bad but this is where the album starts to lose me.
Had Enough moves a little faster but still holds a little in reserve. An ok chorus and some nice soloing feature.
Don't Have To Fight No More moves faster still and has a stronger chorus too. A good track to position here in the album’s sequence. It grooves and it flows well.
Silent Wonder has again, a less memorable chorus, but a good pace and some melodies that grow over time. But there’s no escaping the fact that the album has started to sound a little samey.
What You Take is similar to the last several tracks, featuring a strong sound, ok chorus and plenty of guitar flurries. It’s a bit slow and doesn’t feature a strong chorus to end the album on.
Great performances and a strong production. Goldy is the star of the show here I think and West delivers an authorative vocal, even if it is always set to 10. Or 11 even…
The songs aren’t as strong as the Rev Saints record, but this is a different musical beast.
It definitely hits the target of 80s inspired American hard rock, but perhaps could have been even better.
