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November 2024

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August 2024

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[ More Music Reviews ]

Devil's Hand: Devil's Hand

Melodic Hard Rock/AOR

4.5/5.0

Website (Label)
Frontiers Music
Released: 07.12.2018
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 10.12.2018

Milk and cookies. Peanut butter and jelly. Beer and bourbon. Good things that go together. Now you can add Devil's Hand, the new musical project that features composer, producer, and guitarist Mike Slamer (City Boy, Seventh Key, Slamer, et al) and Last In Line vocalist Andrew Freeman. Slamer hasn't been too occupied recently, but Freeman and Last In Line have their second album, II, coming out in February 2019 on Frontiers Music.

Mike Slamer

In the meantime, take the time to enjoy this Devil's Hand collaboration. Of course, the core of the songs feature Slamer as the composer and guitarist. Ergo, you can expect some classic melodic hard rock in an arena-ready AOR wrapper, with Slamer delivering memoragle guitar solos. For his part, Freeman is a versatile vocalist. He has a voice that traverses genres from classic hard rock to heavy metal, but can also deftly handle a blues tune and and a soulful ballad.

Hard rocking songs come quickly with Alive, Falling In, and Rise Above It All, where Freeman performs with gusto and Slamer peels off some tasty riffs and solos. Yet, with Drive Away and Push Comes To Shove, the rock becomes bristling and fast-paced as gears shift into overdrive. Alternatively, you'll feel the blues vibe rise within the heavier One More Time and later with Unified, a song that twists between lightness and thunder. Justified brings a ballad with Freeman mellowing over acoustic guitar. All in all, Slamer and Freeman make for a solid and viable duo, offering classic melodic hard rock with uncompromising entertainment value. Recommended.

Arrayan Path: Archegonoi

Melodic/Heavy/Power Metal

4.0/5.0

Dropping three full-length albums in three years is basically unheard of in modern popular music; maybe back in the Eighties, but certainly not in 2018. Yet Cyprus ... [ Read More ]

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

In the Devil's Hand, Mike Slamer and Andrew Freeman make for a solid and viable duo, offering classic melodic hard rock with uncompromising entertainment value. Recommended.

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 ]