Dead End Heroes features a couple of very busy guys – vocalist Carsten Lizard Schulz and bassist Paul Logue. Producer and guitarist Rolf Munkes is a busy lad too, so it's cool to see these guys on a project together.
The very impressive and loud rhythm section also features drummer Daniel Voegeli.
Holger Seeger adds some classic Hammond Organ for that old school hard rock sound.
Without trying to over simplify the songwriting involved here – this is a very straight ahead hard rocking album.
The performances are quite electric – there's clearly a lot of effort put into capturing the guys at their collective best here, best evidenced by the cage rattling hard rocker the band takes their name from.
This is a very consistent sounding album – it's one track after another of European blend hard hitting classic melodic metal/hard rock.
I'm not into the lead track Roadkill that much, but the heavy Blue Murder/organ drenched style Cry For The Moon is all class as is the bold epic 7 minute metaller Stormfront.
Hands Off The Wheel rocks along at a good pace and the song And The Loser Is, is as catchy as anything on the album.
The Fire's Worth The Loneliness is another stand out.
There's a certain sameness to some songs, but the big winners here are fans of in your face hard rock with guitars thrust firmly to the front of the mix.
I can hear some Eden's Curse in the rhythm and the harmony vocals, but also latter day Jaded Heart.
A quality release for fans of European hard rock. Maybe a touch too long at nearly an hour in length.
