Dangerdog Music Reviews :: © 1999 - 2025 Craig S Hartranft :: All Rights Reserved
No part of this this website, including design and music reviews,
may be reproduced in any form or by any means without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
CELEBRATING 18 YEARS!
- New Music Reviews
- |
- Archives
- |
- News
- |
- Submissions
- |
- About
- |
- |
New Music Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, AOR, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal
Recent Reviews
February 2025
- Craig Brooks: Desolation Freeway
- Mantric Momentum: Alienized
- Pattern-Seeking Animals: Friend Of All Creatures
- Crazy Lixx: Thrill Of The Bite
- Ginger Evil: The Way It Burns
- Dream Theater: Parasomnia
- Tyran: Tyran's Oath
- Saber: Lost In Flames
January 2025
- Wildness: Avenger
- The Ferrymen: Iron Will
- Labyrinth: In The Vanishing Echoes Of Goodbye
- Bonfire: Higher Ground
- The Big Deal: Electrified
- Landfall: Wide Open Sky
December 2024
- After Lapse: Pathways
- Illusion Force: Halfana
- Powell-Payne: Voilá
November 2024
- Sunstorm: Restless Fight
- Storace: Crossfire
- Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
- Lionville: Supernatural
- Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
- Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
- Lonerider: Down In The Dust
- Seventh Crystal: Entity
- Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
- Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
- Impellitteri: War Machine
- Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter
October 2024
- Casandra's Crossing: Garden Of Earthly Delights
- DGM: Endless
- Daytona: Garder la Flamme
- Fate: Reconnect 'N Ignite
- Frost*: Life In The Wires
- Aries Descendant: From The Ashes Of Deceit
- Fans Of The Dark: Video
- Radioactive: Reset
- House Of Lords: Full Tilt Overdrive
- Cleanbreak: We Are The Fire
Departure: Hitch A Ride
Departure: Hitch A Ride
Melodic Hard Rock/AOR
4.0/5.0
Website (Label)
Escape Music
by Craig Hartranft, 04.02.2012
Absent for nearly a decade, Mike Walsh returns with his Departure project, and fourth album Hitch A Ride. As with the three previous albums, Walsh introduces a new lead vocalist. This time it's the familiar voice of Silent Call's Andi Kravljaca.
Overall, Hitch A Ride is an expected and sound album of melodic hard rock. It's all familiar territory for Walsh and company: big melodies and hooks, and even bigger guitar solos from Walsh. Mostly the album rocks hard. Even the songs that could aspire to be ballads, Roses or Without You, don't mess much with sweetener. Although both Waiting for Rain to Come and the oddly cute LuvSick ave a syrupy goofiness to them. Generally, then, the gloves are off with fine rocking tunes like No Where to Go, Soldier of Fortune, and Travel Through Time. For pure radio-friendly pleasure the best pick is You Don't Need to Do This Anymore.
Hitch A Ride is a welcome return from Mike Walsh and Departure. Here's some no frills entertaining melodic hard rock. Recommended.
Tweet
In Short
With Hitch A Ride we welcome back guitarist Mike Walsh and his Departure project, after a ten year absence, and it's a fine return: entertaining classic melodic hard rock.
Find A Review
Alphabetical Index
New & Notable
By now it's old news. Everybody in the prog universe knows: Dream Theater got the band back together. Drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy returned to his Dream Theater family to celebrate their 40th ... [ Read More ]