Burning Rain
Epic Obsession
Frontiers Records
2013
Burning Rain, is a band that Dough Aldrich of at this point, quite a few bands too mention (Whitesnake, Dio, Lion etc.) had set up in the late 90s that specialized in a sort of dirty 70s/80s hard rock hybrid, very much influenced by the UK bands of that bygone time but having the “big” mentality of the yanks as well. With his “busy” 00s schedule, while a second album just barely managed to come out early in the millennium, a third one, while it was agreed and even contracted in the mid of the decade, it never quite materialized. Well until now that is...
Aldrich reunites with singer Keith St John and together they’re responsible for the production on the album. Sean McNabb (Dokken, Quiet Riot) is handling bass duties and Matt Star (Ace Frehley) is behind the drumkit, making up the numbers, actually making sure the team is good and tight. There’s a good chemistry and with all the time in “the world” to write an album, the results are nothing sort of impressive. A good time hard rocking album, with all the trademarks of what the genre would have it.
Without the pressure of “The Snake” things are a lot more “easy” and fun, there’s not the pressure to write a “hit” for the sake of writing one, so things are a bit more free flowing.
From the go with the flirty “Sweet Little Baby Thing” that has all the swagger and bravado of the Whitesnake of “auld”, “Epic Obsession” as an album, actually passes through a lot of different phases. Each song reveals a slightly different facet of the band.
“The Cure” almost sounds like The Thunder for instance, in parts while “Till You Die” has a very weird Queen meets Extreme sort of vibe.
“Heaven Gets Me By” is a beautiful ballad, one of the best songs on the album, plain and simple.
“Pray Out Loud” is just a standard 2 x 2 rocker. Nothing too special.
“Our Time Is Gonna Come” is a slower tune and it's much better and it sort of becomes quite evident that most of the faster songs don’t seem to particularly work too well in the context of the album, god knows why. There aren’t too many of them but they aren’t top notch either.
“Too Hard, To Break” is actually quite sensational and with a slightly more careful chorus it might have been pretty huge. I think it’s actually under harmonized vocally and Aldrich is actually restraining himself from really firing up the solos in a more grandiose way. Wow.
“My Lust, Your Fate” is a pretty nifty and horny bit of rock, that would not really fit in Whitesnake, but if Whitesnake were really created today, they might have sounded like this. It’s got a vintage feel, but it’s quite modern at the same time.
“Made for Your Heart” is well, if you could not guess it by now, a ballad and a good one at that.
An electric, soul wrenching piece of blues mixed with poetry and poignancy... the not so poetic “Ride the Monkey” (oooer – whose monkey missus?) is a pretty nasty riffy rocker and every bit as silly as you would imagine it would be and then some.
“Out in the Cold Again” is a rather by the numbers, number, “When Can I Believe in Love” that closes the album in a contemplative slower mood being a bittersweet ballad...
“Kashmir”, obviously a cover of the Led Zeppelin tune, is offered as a bonus and is a pretty faithful and close rendition of the original. Additionally there is an acoustic version of “Heaven Gets Me By” which is quite intimate and beautiful.
Without a doubt third time’s almost a charm and even all these years haven’t done much in watering down the tasteful rock nectar that Aldrich & St John concoct every time they come together to write some new music. Bottoms up ladies and gents…
Aldrich reunites with singer Keith St John and together they’re responsible for the production on the album. Sean McNabb (Dokken, Quiet Riot) is handling bass duties and Matt Star (Ace Frehley) is behind the drumkit, making up the numbers, actually making sure the team is good and tight. There’s a good chemistry and with all the time in “the world” to write an album, the results are nothing sort of impressive. A good time hard rocking album, with all the trademarks of what the genre would have it.
Without the pressure of “The Snake” things are a lot more “easy” and fun, there’s not the pressure to write a “hit” for the sake of writing one, so things are a bit more free flowing.
From the go with the flirty “Sweet Little Baby Thing” that has all the swagger and bravado of the Whitesnake of “auld”, “Epic Obsession” as an album, actually passes through a lot of different phases. Each song reveals a slightly different facet of the band.
“The Cure” almost sounds like The Thunder for instance, in parts while “Till You Die” has a very weird Queen meets Extreme sort of vibe.
“Heaven Gets Me By” is a beautiful ballad, one of the best songs on the album, plain and simple.
“Pray Out Loud” is just a standard 2 x 2 rocker. Nothing too special.
“Our Time Is Gonna Come” is a slower tune and it's much better and it sort of becomes quite evident that most of the faster songs don’t seem to particularly work too well in the context of the album, god knows why. There aren’t too many of them but they aren’t top notch either.
“Too Hard, To Break” is actually quite sensational and with a slightly more careful chorus it might have been pretty huge. I think it’s actually under harmonized vocally and Aldrich is actually restraining himself from really firing up the solos in a more grandiose way. Wow.
“My Lust, Your Fate” is a pretty nifty and horny bit of rock, that would not really fit in Whitesnake, but if Whitesnake were really created today, they might have sounded like this. It’s got a vintage feel, but it’s quite modern at the same time.
“Made for Your Heart” is well, if you could not guess it by now, a ballad and a good one at that.
An electric, soul wrenching piece of blues mixed with poetry and poignancy... the not so poetic “Ride the Monkey” (oooer – whose monkey missus?) is a pretty nasty riffy rocker and every bit as silly as you would imagine it would be and then some.
“Out in the Cold Again” is a rather by the numbers, number, “When Can I Believe in Love” that closes the album in a contemplative slower mood being a bittersweet ballad...
“Kashmir”, obviously a cover of the Led Zeppelin tune, is offered as a bonus and is a pretty faithful and close rendition of the original. Additionally there is an acoustic version of “Heaven Gets Me By” which is quite intimate and beautiful.
Without a doubt third time’s almost a charm and even all these years haven’t done much in watering down the tasteful rock nectar that Aldrich & St John concoct every time they come together to write some new music. Bottoms up ladies and gents…