• New Music Reviews
• |
• Archives
• |
• News
• |
• Submissions
• |
• About
• |
• 
• |
• 

November 2024

• 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

September 2024

• Sinner's Blood: Dark Horizons
• Serious Black: Rise Of Akhenaton
• Eclipse: Megalomanium II
• SteelCity: Reverence
• Hydra: ReHydrated
• Heartwind: III
• Gabrielle De Val and the Dragonlords: Tiger
• Find Me: Nightbound
• The Nail: The Nail
• Timeless Fairytale: A Story To Tell
• Stryper: When We Were Kings
• Phil Mogg: Moggs Motel
• Pure Reason Revolution: Coming Up To Consciousness
• Jordan Rudess: Permission To Fly

August 2024

• Siege Perilous: Creation's Call EP
• Paralydium: Universe Calls
• Mike Tramp: Songs Of White Lion Vol. II
• Bite The Bullet: Looking For Paradise
• All For Metal: Gods Of Metal (Year Of The Dragon)
• Hammerfall: Avenge The Fallen
• Jim Peterik & World Stage: Roots & Shoots Vol. 2

[ More Music Reviews ]

Fear Report: Pandemic

Modern Hard Rock

3.5/5.0

Website Facebook Twitter
Soul on Loan Records
by Craig Hartranft,  03.26.2012

The cover letter that came with Fear Report's Pandemic had a single description, a quote from Rock Sound (UK) Magazine: "Fear Report could just be about to save the world of rock n roll." That's a bold statement, as bold as it is to make it your single band statement. Makes you wonder who's being presumptuous.

Fear Report: fear their wardrobe.

What you've got here is some heavier rock, mostly of the grunge/post-grunge variety, but with enough groove to suggest an homage to classic melodic hard rock. Two things are key here, maybe a third.

One is the immense rhythm section which is both precise and relentless. Second is the guitar work; Fear Report could steal a page from many current modern acts and simply offer massive riffage in chord arrangements. But not this clan. There's some hearty and hefty guitar solos here.

The third might be the depth of the song arrangements. While the songs are cast in a heavy motif, there's adequate creativity, melody, hook, and variation to make the songs both intriguing and entertaining. (There are exceptions, like the dismal opener Mariana Trench or Viral.)

Notably, vocalist Dan O'Berry has that necessary indistinct voice, peanut butter stuck to the roof of the mouth washed away with whiskey, to equal the best Nineties grunge breathers. Though easily adequate to task, and fitting the band, considering the strength of the music, I'd rather listen to the music than O'Berry's vocals, at least sometimes. Nevertheless, it all works well together.

On Pandemic, Fear Report resuscitates and re-imagines the best of Nineties grunge, which envelopes heaviness with melody, accessibility, and some genuine guitar hero fire. Favorite picks: 5 Dirty Cents, The Front Line, Bloodrust, Sleeper Cell, and Paper Wings and a Handgun. Recommended.

On Pandemic, Fear Report resuscitates and re-imagines the best of Nineties grunge, which envelopes heaviness with melody, accessibility, and some genuine guitar hero fire.

Alphabetical Index

eviewing my archives, I was pleased to find that I have had the privilege to review every Lionville since their self-titled debut in 2011. Formed by Stefano Lionetti, a songwriter, singer and guitarist based in ... [ Read More ]