***UPDATED: FULL ALBUM NOW PREVIEWED AND SAMPLED***
Revolution Saints is the newest power trio to arrive on the scene and features guitar skills by Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake), bass and co-lead vocals by Jack Blades (Night Ranger, Damn Yankees, Shaw/Blades) and drums and lead vocals by Deen Castronovo (Journey, Bad English). The album is available for pre-order at Amazon in standard CD at http://geni.us/RevSaintsAMZReg and deluxe edition with bonus DVD at http://geni.us/RevSaintsAMZDlx. Fans who order the album digitally via iTunes athttp://geni.us/RevSaintsiTunes will receive an automatic download of 'Turn Back Time.' 'It's a fun record. It's not safe. It is a musician's record,' states Castronovo.
Revolution Saints have released an EPK discussing the new project that can be seen here:http://youtu.be/xOKjuLhUkKs.
Here at MelodicRock.com I'm going to go through the album Track By Track with our own exclusive teaser Soundbytes!
Back On My Trail – A dramatic album opener that rocks as intended. Upbeat and driven by a thumping beat and some hard edged, but melodic guitar riffs.
Deen bursts through the speakers with power and authority in his own natural tone, which is a combination of the sweet tone of Steve Perry and the power of Jeff Scott Soto.
He lets rip a few notes that simply stun. And his drumming is quickly simply insane. There are drum fills and progressive twists throughout the song.
A terrific guitar solo with numerous flourishes throughout shows what a master Doug Aldrich is, while Jack Blades’ bass truly thumps away.
The song itself is a powerhouse melodic hard rocker that sounds like Journey meets Night Ranger, but with the sonic edge that Doug brought to Whitesnake. Harmonies abound and the chorus is simple, but memorable and gets better with every listen.
The classy song is written, like much of the album, by Alessandro Del Vecchio who also produces and contributes keyboards and piano. This is easily Ale’s most accomplished work to date.
Turn Back Time is co-written by Alessandro and Jack Blades and is an easy choice for the first single. The feel good anthemic and uptempo melodic rocker sees Deen and Jack share lead vocals, with Deen doing his finest Journey style melodies and everyone joining in to take the chorus over the top.
Some more tasty guitar soloing and an infectious foot thumping beat makes the song a clear winner.
Deen again is a monster on drums. How does he do it? Hear the song in full with the newly launched video:
You're Not Alone - Alessandro Del Vecchio’s piano opens the first ballad of the album. It’s only a matter of seconds before the power of this song is on display.
Arnel Pineda and Deen share lead vocals in a very recent era Journey-esque track that features layers of keyboards and rich musical depth.
It’s a big power ballad that reminds me heavily of the more dramatic songs off the LRS album (also written by Alessandro)
It’s a big and powerful ballad where vocals are the emphasis and there’s plenty of them!
Locked Out Of Paradise is a monster melodic hard rock tune. It’s one of the heavier album tracks and is maybe the most powerful song I have heard Deen Castronovo appear on since Hardline. The drumming is stunning, while the vocals are pure Perry-goes-metal.
The chorus gets better and better and the song structure is such that it takes the classic melodic hard rock format, but modernizes it. Doug’s guitar playing is sublime from start to finish.
Way To The Sun - An acoustic guitar and a soulful vocal greet the start of the next track. Another ballad? Not sure I’m ready for that, but that vocal! Then 1 minute in, the song bursts to life, with the full power of the band in action. The chorus is beautiful – harmony vocals, a powerful drum rip, an authoritative guitar riff.
Neal Schon guests on the track with a typically soulful flurry of guitar chords that is pure Journey.
Interestingly, Deen asked Alessandro to sing the chorus with him so Ale could be on the same track as Neal. That’s coolness for you.
The track continues building throughout, so by this time it’s in full epic mode, with vocals, guitars and harmonies. Beautiful track.
Dream On is a song written by Erik Martensson, Johan and Kris Becker, Alessandro and Jack Blades. The combined collaboration works, as this is a brilliant pure melodic rock stadium anthem, with Deen sounding like a raspier Escape/Frontiers era Steve Perry.
The chorus is pure ear candy and the energy infectious.
Erik Martensson’s writing influence here is undeniable. Melodic bliss.
Don’t Walk Away is another ballad and to be honest, at first I thought it was too early for another ballad, but once again, that fear is dismissed with the first note Deen sings. Wow, this guy has soul and passion that’s been kept hidden for too long.
The song starts as a soft piano ballad, with Deen and Alessandro featured together until the chorus sees a full band accompaniment. And what a chorus. A hit single in any other era.
A monster Alessandro song that is pure Journey. The end of the song is simply epic and some of the notes Deen hits are insane. This song features some big big vocals and a great guitar solo too.
Here Forever is another ballad, but like each slower track before it, it is different once again and stands on its own. I love this track. Soulful, powerful and emotional. It’s more rock then ballad and Deen’s voice is outstanding once again. Definitely reminds me of Journey.
Strangers To This Life – it’s time to fire proceedings back up again. Deen goes full Perry for this moody rocker that might have sounded pretty comfortable on Journey’s Trial By Fire.
Better World is another upbeat melodic rocker that has a strong European feel and a good mix of Journey too. The verse and bridge-to-chorus is pure Journey, while the chorus is more Euro-melodic rock, with keyboards a plenty. Of course there is a tasty Aldrich solo and some rolling bass thumping from Jack. Alessandro takes a writing credit with Magnus Karlsson on this one.
How To Mend A Broken Heart is a ripping version of the brilliance Eclipse track. This has all the energy of the original and Deen sounds brilliant singing it. That rasp in his voice is a joy! For those that don’t know Eclipse, let this be an introduction to the fabulous Swedish band.
A sparse piano ballad to close the album. While another ballad might not be on the menu for some, In The Name Of The Father is a stunner almost worth the price of the album alone. Deen’s vocals send a shiver down the spine as just his voice and a piano deliver the first half of the song. There’s orchestral backing and then the full band chimes in. Truly a magnificent, epic ballad and the song itself (from Alessandro on his own) is brilliant. Steve Perry would be proud…
