Sweet & Lynch
Only to Rise
Frontiers Music Srl
2015
Apparently it must be fun to be Serafino, the label boss of Frontiers records, since he seems able to suggest and convince all sort of weird, sometimes great, sometimes not absolutely successful projects – collaborations and then see them come alive.
Sweet & Lynch as the name should belie, are a band centered around the talents of guitarist/vocalist Michael Sweet of Christian hard rockers Stryper and iconic guitarist George Lynch (Lynch Mob, ex-Dokken) along with bassist James Lomenzo (ex-Megadeth, White Lion, Black Label Society) and drummer Brian Tichy (ex-Whitesnakle)
Sweet and Lynch handled the writing and arrangement, exchanging, bits and pieces, to complete the songs, Lynch would come up with riffs, then Sweet would come up with lyrics and melodies and create the arrangements... in the end they got the other guys to do the drums and bass and then got some guitars and overdubs to complete the album.
“Only to Rise” is an interesting 70s/80s amalgam of sounds, with a production that’s current. There are lots of nods to Dokken and Stryper (obviously) but one could also hear some Bad Company, Van Halen and even Journey… bands from that era and mindset… more or less...
The album opens with “The Wish” a high flying number that kicks things into high gear from the go.
It combines the still stratospheric but now a lot more melodic and reserved vocals of Sweet over some very taste and equally melodic and commercial ideas by Lynch that make this track leave a strong mark.
“Like a Dying Rose” has some more 70s styling and a nastier far less polished sound, as its grungier and darker atmosphere give it a totally different character.
“Love Stays” is a ballad, albeit not a sappy one, but a moody one with some fine instrumental display by Lynch and some fine singing by Sweet.
“Time Will Tell” begins in a moody way as well but progressively gets louder, while it maintains a lot of melody. Somewhat simple, but great chorus...
“Rescue Me” manages in a weird way, to combine probably from Sweet’s way the gospel and from Lynch’s perspective the somewhat nastier hard rock into a parable of a song… where the woman is also the salvation… (sometimes those creatures do have the devil in them! Especially under their dresses!)
“Me Without You” is a beautiful ballad, with only some brief but tasteful lynch soloing disturbing the smooth overall atmosphere… Sweet sings very lightly and it’s just awesome...
On “Recover” the pedal is pushed to the metal. It’s an all-out rocker with 70s/early 80s influences and Sweet delivering a part of the chorus in possibly the highest falsetto he can do – sounding at least weird as the very next vocal is in perfect harmony with the previous to that momentary “Head-quake”!
“Divine” is a mid-tempo, slightly hippy-trippy rocker... that occasionally “bites” and provides and interesting change of pace...
“September” is more stripped down but funkier, rhythmically and again has a winning chorus… a thing for which Sweet seems to have a knack for (writing fairly good ones)…
“Strength in Numbers” is a great and rocking track with great harmonies, big vocals… an overall, very inspired number that sounds perfect for live performances.
“Hero-Zero” gave me “VH” flashbacks, (hehe – no not Van Halen) but I suppose that it’s quite interesting… a more “somber”/dark song that somehow feels weird tacked towards the end… with only the chorus working its way to lighten it up…
Last but not least “Only to Rise” begins with a very 80s rhythm and could possibly fool you, into believing it originated from that era… so original is the “muscle-shirt” riff that Lynch has come up with to drive this track… it’s the song’s best asset, because it’s otherwise fair, but it’s interesting to see Sweet going for an even fuller, heavier vocals performance I suppose. A little weird closer… but…
Overall, “Only to Rise” is a little patchy in places, and could have benefited from an outside producer’s more objective ear, on a couple of areas, but it’s not bad at all, succeeding in what it set out to do... whatever that was in the first place! (lol)
Sweet & Lynch as the name should belie, are a band centered around the talents of guitarist/vocalist Michael Sweet of Christian hard rockers Stryper and iconic guitarist George Lynch (Lynch Mob, ex-Dokken) along with bassist James Lomenzo (ex-Megadeth, White Lion, Black Label Society) and drummer Brian Tichy (ex-Whitesnakle)
Sweet and Lynch handled the writing and arrangement, exchanging, bits and pieces, to complete the songs, Lynch would come up with riffs, then Sweet would come up with lyrics and melodies and create the arrangements... in the end they got the other guys to do the drums and bass and then got some guitars and overdubs to complete the album.
“Only to Rise” is an interesting 70s/80s amalgam of sounds, with a production that’s current. There are lots of nods to Dokken and Stryper (obviously) but one could also hear some Bad Company, Van Halen and even Journey… bands from that era and mindset… more or less...
The album opens with “The Wish” a high flying number that kicks things into high gear from the go.
It combines the still stratospheric but now a lot more melodic and reserved vocals of Sweet over some very taste and equally melodic and commercial ideas by Lynch that make this track leave a strong mark.
“Like a Dying Rose” has some more 70s styling and a nastier far less polished sound, as its grungier and darker atmosphere give it a totally different character.
“Love Stays” is a ballad, albeit not a sappy one, but a moody one with some fine instrumental display by Lynch and some fine singing by Sweet.
“Time Will Tell” begins in a moody way as well but progressively gets louder, while it maintains a lot of melody. Somewhat simple, but great chorus...
“Rescue Me” manages in a weird way, to combine probably from Sweet’s way the gospel and from Lynch’s perspective the somewhat nastier hard rock into a parable of a song… where the woman is also the salvation… (sometimes those creatures do have the devil in them! Especially under their dresses!)
“Me Without You” is a beautiful ballad, with only some brief but tasteful lynch soloing disturbing the smooth overall atmosphere… Sweet sings very lightly and it’s just awesome...
On “Recover” the pedal is pushed to the metal. It’s an all-out rocker with 70s/early 80s influences and Sweet delivering a part of the chorus in possibly the highest falsetto he can do – sounding at least weird as the very next vocal is in perfect harmony with the previous to that momentary “Head-quake”!
“Divine” is a mid-tempo, slightly hippy-trippy rocker... that occasionally “bites” and provides and interesting change of pace...
“September” is more stripped down but funkier, rhythmically and again has a winning chorus… a thing for which Sweet seems to have a knack for (writing fairly good ones)…
“Strength in Numbers” is a great and rocking track with great harmonies, big vocals… an overall, very inspired number that sounds perfect for live performances.
“Hero-Zero” gave me “VH” flashbacks, (hehe – no not Van Halen) but I suppose that it’s quite interesting… a more “somber”/dark song that somehow feels weird tacked towards the end… with only the chorus working its way to lighten it up…
Last but not least “Only to Rise” begins with a very 80s rhythm and could possibly fool you, into believing it originated from that era… so original is the “muscle-shirt” riff that Lynch has come up with to drive this track… it’s the song’s best asset, because it’s otherwise fair, but it’s interesting to see Sweet going for an even fuller, heavier vocals performance I suppose. A little weird closer… but…
Overall, “Only to Rise” is a little patchy in places, and could have benefited from an outside producer’s more objective ear, on a couple of areas, but it’s not bad at all, succeeding in what it set out to do... whatever that was in the first place! (lol)