STONE TEMPLE PILOTS
Stone Temple Pilots
(Rhino)
*****(5 stars)
Few would have been surprised if STP decided to call it a day following the deaths of previous singers Scott Weiland and Chester Bennington. Defiantly they gritted it out and have returned with a fine album of razor-sharp, edgy rock on which new singer Jeff Gutt takes flight and earns his wings.
A clamorous clash of dissonant guitar riffs by Dean DeLeo on opener Middle Of Nowhere sets a cracking pace as Gutt nails a mighty vocal. The fuzzy, earworming melody on Meadows and a punchy Roll Me Under display a fine balance of songwriting and combined musicianship.
Moreover, the glammy rock of Never Enough and a booming Six Eight prove these veterans still have their hard rock brass tacks intact.
But it’s on the lighter songs that this versatile band of players merge their abilities with new man Gutt to glorious effect on the Art Of Letting Go and the wistful Thought She’d Be Mine
The future is once again looking intensely bright for this resurgent band of brothers.
JUDAS PRIEST
Firepower
(Columbia Records)
****(4 stars)
Stereo speakers shiver and radio waves quiver upon the announcement of a new Judas Priest release. This original British Metal band remain the yardstick against which most metal bands judge themselves. Firepower blasts off with the classic riffs for which Priest are rightly regaled for and a slew of epic tracks, particularly Traitor’s Gate and Sea Of Red, that separates them from their few remaining peers.
This release also has all the fiery hallmarks of Priest’s holy spell of classic, sonic power. It also benefits from Tom Allom’s return in a production team with Andy Sneap. They both enable the band to deliver a clinical focus on tracks Never The Heroes, Flamethrower and title song Firepower.
Clearly firing on all cylinders, Rob Halford’s legendary multi-octave voice sounds as though it’s had a thorough winter service as he shifts through his vocal gears on Children Of The Sun and Spectre.
If this is Glenn Tipton’s final associated Priest album, following his Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis, then it’s with all guns blazing as all players open up their fingers and show their class. Judas Priest stamp their metal authority all over this searing, red-hot release.
MARILLION
Brave – Deluxe Edition
(Rhino)
*****(5 stars)
Fortune certainly favoured the brave when Marillion changed tack in their career with this concept album. Inspired by a true story of a girl found wandering on the Severn Bridge suffering total memory loss, it became a Top 10 chart album upon its original release.
Critically, it’s also the album that solidified Steve Hogarth position as the frontman in this much loved British prog band. And it’s Hogarth’s impassioned vocals and the subtle nuances of musicianship by all players that sparkle in this beautifully buffed up box set.
Exquisitely presented in an expanded deluxe edition is a Steven Wilson remix of the album in 5.1, Dave Meegan’s original lush production and a stellar two-disc live concert from Paris. As a band who are totally in tune with their fans, the many DVD extras that include a revealing documentary on the making of this concept masterpiece is an insightful delight.
LANCE LOPEZ
Tell The Truth
(Provogue/Mascot)
****(4 stars)
‘Nothing worth having ever came easy to me. The sweetest victories came within an inch of defeat’ sings Lopez on swampy opener Never Came Easy To Me. And with that gravelly voice steeped in life’s experiences, you believe he’s lived it and played it as he delivers on this belting blues release.
Chewing his way through the words on One Last Bar, Lopez lets his guitar do the real talking with an explosive, grinding slab of blues attack. He skilfully suffuses his supersonic abilities with the guitar on this mighty record especially on stand out track The Real Deal. An epithet that perfectly sums up Lopez himself, to tell the truth.
LAURENCE JONES
The Truth
(Top Stop Music)
****(4 stars)
Twenty-six-year-old Jones has developed a virtuoso pedigree as the UK’s hottest young blues guitar-slinger. With coruscating riffs, soloing and catchy songs he not only consolidates but improves upon his reputation on The Truth.
His supercharged vocal/guitar combination on Hendrix infused opening song What Would You Do oozes class. He also has an ear for an infectious melody as evidenced by the rock/pop crossover of Keep Me Up At Night – a yacht rock beach party hit in the making.
A mature and classy release that should prove to be his breakthrough into the blues mainstream that Joe Bonamassa has trailblazed.