Vescera
Beyond the Fight
Pure Steel Records
2017
Michael Vescera needs little introduction, as he made quite a name for himself with Obsession in the 80s, later joining Jap Metal Legends Loudness for two rather good albums and Yngwie Malmsteen for another two, just when the wheel started coming off, for the Swedish virtuoso. He’s, since then, sung in numerous albums, either as a hired vocalist, or forming “solo bands” around him ie MVP (with a variety of lineups) etc. His latest “Vescera” outing comes with the aid of Italian group Nitehawks.
It’s might not on par with his earliest Obsession material, but it’s a rather enjoyable and melodic slab of 80s flavored metal that is unapologetically, old school with all the clichés thrown in for good measure. Sharp riffs, melodic bridges and solos and epic sounding choruses were Vescera wails along just as you’d expect him to.
Stuff like “Blackout in Paradise”, “In the Night” won’t win any points for originality or inspiration, but really do work well in the context of what they set out to do. “Stand and Fight” is faster and has a goofier sounding vocal and without being bad, sounds quite “template”-made. “Dynamite”, that follows up, is a bit more “commercial sounding, maybe sounding a bit like Kix, if they were fronted by Michael of course… hehe! “Looking for Trouble”, I guess is the closest thing I found to old school Obsession. Not bad and “Vendetta” follows suit quite convincingly as well. There isn’t actually something too bad on the album, but I could have done without listening to “Never Let You Go” ultra-melodic chorus, which forays unknowingly into self-parody territory at times with an almost danceable beat to it. The whole affair is pleasant to my ears in the context it was built in and feels like one of Vescera’s all-around best efforts in a while, since not everything he’s done turned out to be “golden”…
It’s might not on par with his earliest Obsession material, but it’s a rather enjoyable and melodic slab of 80s flavored metal that is unapologetically, old school with all the clichés thrown in for good measure. Sharp riffs, melodic bridges and solos and epic sounding choruses were Vescera wails along just as you’d expect him to.
Stuff like “Blackout in Paradise”, “In the Night” won’t win any points for originality or inspiration, but really do work well in the context of what they set out to do. “Stand and Fight” is faster and has a goofier sounding vocal and without being bad, sounds quite “template”-made. “Dynamite”, that follows up, is a bit more “commercial sounding, maybe sounding a bit like Kix, if they were fronted by Michael of course… hehe! “Looking for Trouble”, I guess is the closest thing I found to old school Obsession. Not bad and “Vendetta” follows suit quite convincingly as well. There isn’t actually something too bad on the album, but I could have done without listening to “Never Let You Go” ultra-melodic chorus, which forays unknowingly into self-parody territory at times with an almost danceable beat to it. The whole affair is pleasant to my ears in the context it was built in and feels like one of Vescera’s all-around best efforts in a while, since not everything he’s done turned out to be “golden”…