Riot On Mars
First Wave
Independent Release
2015
Michael Vescera, is the vocalist of semi obscure but classic US metallers, Obsession, who still are at it, even if they failed to get enough pledges together to record a new album, thus going into an atypical hiatus of sorts for the foreseeable future I guess. He made quite a name for him when he collaborated with Yngwie Malmsteen on a few albums, after his brief stint as the vocalist of Japan cult classic metaller Loudness and ever since has unleashed a large number of different projects onto the world, from rock remakes of Japanese Pop/Rock, anime stuff to various rather obscure projects that range from Hard Rock to out and out Power Metal.
Barry Sparks, is a virtuoso bassist, who also is an Yngwie alumnus and has also played in bands like Michael Schenker Group, Uli Jon Roth, UFO, Scorpions, Ted Nugent and as of late B’Z a million selling Japanese guitarists solo vehicle. He met with Vescera back in the day and the two kept into contact ever since. Now Sparks had prepared a solo album, that he didn’t have a vocalist for and it’s not very hard to see, how the two came together to create this album where Sparks pretty much is responsible for the music and Vescera for the vocals.
Stylistically, the band sites Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, Rush and The Who as influences and that’ not too far from the truth, with the end result sounding a bit like Europe/TNT and other Scandi Rockers, at times, yet a little more generic, a little “thinner” sounding, with Vescera sounding as he usually does. While not a bad album, the songwriting isn’t as consistent, or maybe it’s not consistently that interesting, thus resulting in a rather uneven album...
“Carry On” sounds a lot like Europe, mixed with Deep Purple, with Ves, posting a rather Joey'ish, but a little “white” performance in places. The general trebbleness, is a little hard to take in, but all in all it’s an enjoyable enough affair, but missing a little emphasis on the bottom end. Weird that as Sparks is a bassist. Sure enough the mix is clear as a bright sky, but it’s just too bright and light.
“Out of Sight” is a lot more melodic, 70s early 80s American Rock flavored and is again quite enjoyable.
“Movin’ On” is a tad faster and more rock ‘n roll but it just doesn’t manage to stick out. It’s adequate, but nothing too special.
On “Sacrifices” the sound gets a bit “brashier” which is a welcome deviation. This thick and melodious number, is a lot more convincing than a few of the ones that precede it...
“Prologue” is a melodic and rather triumphant if not a little carefree guitar piece, with discreet use of keys that introduces…
“This is the Time” which is another quite melodic number, with a distinctive mix of a more 70s rock style with nice mid-80s, hair metal… it’s chorus and slightly prog atmosphere helps it a great deal to keep interest high.
“State of Mind” is more melodic and mixes up different guitar styles, nicely enough. I began to draw a few parallels with the band Westworld (a collaboration between the late Mike Reale, of Riot and TNT’s former singer Tony Harnell and Bruno Ravel from Danger Danger) but a lot lighter in places and not as catchy. Plus the mix, being so thin, especially when Vescera, is reaching the top of his range, does become kinda cumbersome...
I initially thought that “All to Light” was going to be an instrumental, as it begins slowly and melodiously and then fuses into something a lot more twisted and funky. It’s not too bad, just different than most of the other songs on the album and the fusion of all the song parts is not as elegant as one might have hoped... I guess, it feels a bit as a bit of a musical Frankenstein of ideas that would hardly work together but the musicians high pedigree, actually manages to bind together in something that kinda works. Kinda being the key word here.
To demonstrate that “Chaotica” is an apt enough title, as this short instrumental, totally turns the albums game on its head by being a lot more prog and heavy – if only for a minute.
“Wasted Days” that follows is a way more melodic, almost AOR-ish number, but Vescera’s singing, as soon as he launches into his higher notes sort of shatters the illusion, turning it into some 70s exercise in indulgence, if he avoided to tonally go there in the pre-early chorus, I don’t think I would have minded, nor would it have affected the song negatively.
“What Lies Beyond” is obviously asking some weird existential questions, in a nice acoustic way, but the almost four minutes of lute like stuff, is moody and has as a perquisite, that you are in a matching mood/state of mind, if you’re to fully enjoy it.
“Consequences” is another “heavier” number, that has a bit of a change of heart about its style midway, evolving into a more quirky and bizarre hybrid, that is quite interesting, but at seven minutes long feels a little, too much.
“Alba Patera Suite” had me googling up to find that it has to do with the largest volcano on… you guessed in... Mars, well since it’s a Riot On Mars, I am guessing it’s only fair to call this quirky instrumental “that way”. Not bad.
“Beggars Day” featured the former but classic Nazareth singer Dan Macafferty, and isn’t bad at all, a strong, stompy rocker, in tune with what you would have expected to hear from him. For a man, that had to give up professional sinning because of health problems, he sounds, quite vitriolically “good”.
Last but not least “Rose in the Heather” is a temperate melodic song that closes the album in a rather nice way...
All in all, “First Wave” is not a bad album, but it doesn’t have the kind of cohesion or sequence that would make it “great”. It’s hard to fault any of the songs or the performances, as only a few are too indulgent, but the production could have been a little “bigger” sounding and a bit more “rocking” attitude, might have benefited this album. It’s hard rock all-right, but a bit more oomph, might have done it a great deal of good... it’s “darker/heavier” songs just tend to feel a little out of climate, while if it uniformly had a bit more brassiness, in places, while staying true to its form, I think it might have worked out a lot better.
Barry Sparks, is a virtuoso bassist, who also is an Yngwie alumnus and has also played in bands like Michael Schenker Group, Uli Jon Roth, UFO, Scorpions, Ted Nugent and as of late B’Z a million selling Japanese guitarists solo vehicle. He met with Vescera back in the day and the two kept into contact ever since. Now Sparks had prepared a solo album, that he didn’t have a vocalist for and it’s not very hard to see, how the two came together to create this album where Sparks pretty much is responsible for the music and Vescera for the vocals.
Stylistically, the band sites Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, Rush and The Who as influences and that’ not too far from the truth, with the end result sounding a bit like Europe/TNT and other Scandi Rockers, at times, yet a little more generic, a little “thinner” sounding, with Vescera sounding as he usually does. While not a bad album, the songwriting isn’t as consistent, or maybe it’s not consistently that interesting, thus resulting in a rather uneven album...
“Carry On” sounds a lot like Europe, mixed with Deep Purple, with Ves, posting a rather Joey'ish, but a little “white” performance in places. The general trebbleness, is a little hard to take in, but all in all it’s an enjoyable enough affair, but missing a little emphasis on the bottom end. Weird that as Sparks is a bassist. Sure enough the mix is clear as a bright sky, but it’s just too bright and light.
“Out of Sight” is a lot more melodic, 70s early 80s American Rock flavored and is again quite enjoyable.
“Movin’ On” is a tad faster and more rock ‘n roll but it just doesn’t manage to stick out. It’s adequate, but nothing too special.
On “Sacrifices” the sound gets a bit “brashier” which is a welcome deviation. This thick and melodious number, is a lot more convincing than a few of the ones that precede it...
“Prologue” is a melodic and rather triumphant if not a little carefree guitar piece, with discreet use of keys that introduces…
“This is the Time” which is another quite melodic number, with a distinctive mix of a more 70s rock style with nice mid-80s, hair metal… it’s chorus and slightly prog atmosphere helps it a great deal to keep interest high.
“State of Mind” is more melodic and mixes up different guitar styles, nicely enough. I began to draw a few parallels with the band Westworld (a collaboration between the late Mike Reale, of Riot and TNT’s former singer Tony Harnell and Bruno Ravel from Danger Danger) but a lot lighter in places and not as catchy. Plus the mix, being so thin, especially when Vescera, is reaching the top of his range, does become kinda cumbersome...
I initially thought that “All to Light” was going to be an instrumental, as it begins slowly and melodiously and then fuses into something a lot more twisted and funky. It’s not too bad, just different than most of the other songs on the album and the fusion of all the song parts is not as elegant as one might have hoped... I guess, it feels a bit as a bit of a musical Frankenstein of ideas that would hardly work together but the musicians high pedigree, actually manages to bind together in something that kinda works. Kinda being the key word here.
To demonstrate that “Chaotica” is an apt enough title, as this short instrumental, totally turns the albums game on its head by being a lot more prog and heavy – if only for a minute.
“Wasted Days” that follows is a way more melodic, almost AOR-ish number, but Vescera’s singing, as soon as he launches into his higher notes sort of shatters the illusion, turning it into some 70s exercise in indulgence, if he avoided to tonally go there in the pre-early chorus, I don’t think I would have minded, nor would it have affected the song negatively.
“What Lies Beyond” is obviously asking some weird existential questions, in a nice acoustic way, but the almost four minutes of lute like stuff, is moody and has as a perquisite, that you are in a matching mood/state of mind, if you’re to fully enjoy it.
“Consequences” is another “heavier” number, that has a bit of a change of heart about its style midway, evolving into a more quirky and bizarre hybrid, that is quite interesting, but at seven minutes long feels a little, too much.
“Alba Patera Suite” had me googling up to find that it has to do with the largest volcano on… you guessed in... Mars, well since it’s a Riot On Mars, I am guessing it’s only fair to call this quirky instrumental “that way”. Not bad.
“Beggars Day” featured the former but classic Nazareth singer Dan Macafferty, and isn’t bad at all, a strong, stompy rocker, in tune with what you would have expected to hear from him. For a man, that had to give up professional sinning because of health problems, he sounds, quite vitriolically “good”.
Last but not least “Rose in the Heather” is a temperate melodic song that closes the album in a rather nice way...
All in all, “First Wave” is not a bad album, but it doesn’t have the kind of cohesion or sequence that would make it “great”. It’s hard to fault any of the songs or the performances, as only a few are too indulgent, but the production could have been a little “bigger” sounding and a bit more “rocking” attitude, might have benefited this album. It’s hard rock all-right, but a bit more oomph, might have done it a great deal of good... it’s “darker/heavier” songs just tend to feel a little out of climate, while if it uniformly had a bit more brassiness, in places, while staying true to its form, I think it might have worked out a lot better.