Revolution Saints
Revolution Saints
Frontiers Music Srl
2015
Every so often a “supergroup” comes along, which does not live up to the fans’ expectations and all that’s left in the end is the well-known names of the participants. Thankfully this time the word “supergroup” really stands for its fame! Revolution Saints consists of Deen Castronovo (Journey, Ozzy, Bad English etc.) on drums & lead vocals, Jack Blades (Night Ranger, Damn Yankees) on bass & vocals and Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake, Dio) on guitars. That’s a friggin awesome line-up. But wait there’s more. Alongside we have Alessandro Del Vecchio on keyboards & backing vocals, Arnel Pineda (Journey) on co-lead vocals on “You’re not Alone” and Neal Schon (Journey) on guitar solo on “Way to the Sun”. Alessandro has also produced the album. This is totally among his top works ever.
So how does “Revolution Saints” sound? Well, envisage Journey with a harder edge and you’ve got it! Would it be too much if I said that this album could have been the new Journey? Well, at least many tracks could have been featured in a Journey album… if you do not completely agree with my first statement. Deen is a hell of a drummer and a great singer too! But that is already known to those who have been following Deen over the years. It is still to wonder why he didn’t choose to front Journey before Arnel’s coming. Deen’s “raspy” vocals will reminds you of the one & only Steve Perry, who is and will always be one of the 3 golden voices of AOR/melodic rock music.
Jack sings on “Turn Back Time” and “Way to the Sun” along with Alessandro. Arnel shares the lead vocals with Deen on “You’re not Alone” – there are also two bonus versions of that track, one with Arnel on lead vocals entirely and another one with Deen. Neal Schon plays the guitar solo on “Way to the Sun” but there’s another version, a bonus track where Doug delivers the guitar solo. As you can guess, there’s a lot of Journey-stuff on this album. That will astonish the fans of the band entirely. The only thing that I didn’t quite get is why they chose to add a cover of Eclipse’s “To Mend a Broken Heart” –it is called “How to Mend a Broken Heart” on the album’s tracklisting and they do not offer it as a bonus track. The ballads “You’re not Alone”, “Way to the Sun”, “Don’t Walk Away”, “Here Forever” & “In The Name of the Father (Fernando’s Song)” are all wonderful. The other tracks rock without losing their melodious side. All the performances are very heartfelt and passionate in general. In truth to be told, the album’s main advantage is also its main disadvantage… it’s too Journey-like and it lacks originality and character. Other than that, there are a lot of tracks to enjoy here…
So how does “Revolution Saints” sound? Well, envisage Journey with a harder edge and you’ve got it! Would it be too much if I said that this album could have been the new Journey? Well, at least many tracks could have been featured in a Journey album… if you do not completely agree with my first statement. Deen is a hell of a drummer and a great singer too! But that is already known to those who have been following Deen over the years. It is still to wonder why he didn’t choose to front Journey before Arnel’s coming. Deen’s “raspy” vocals will reminds you of the one & only Steve Perry, who is and will always be one of the 3 golden voices of AOR/melodic rock music.
Jack sings on “Turn Back Time” and “Way to the Sun” along with Alessandro. Arnel shares the lead vocals with Deen on “You’re not Alone” – there are also two bonus versions of that track, one with Arnel on lead vocals entirely and another one with Deen. Neal Schon plays the guitar solo on “Way to the Sun” but there’s another version, a bonus track where Doug delivers the guitar solo. As you can guess, there’s a lot of Journey-stuff on this album. That will astonish the fans of the band entirely. The only thing that I didn’t quite get is why they chose to add a cover of Eclipse’s “To Mend a Broken Heart” –it is called “How to Mend a Broken Heart” on the album’s tracklisting and they do not offer it as a bonus track. The ballads “You’re not Alone”, “Way to the Sun”, “Don’t Walk Away”, “Here Forever” & “In The Name of the Father (Fernando’s Song)” are all wonderful. The other tracks rock without losing their melodious side. All the performances are very heartfelt and passionate in general. In truth to be told, the album’s main advantage is also its main disadvantage… it’s too Journey-like and it lacks originality and character. Other than that, there are a lot of tracks to enjoy here…