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

January 2025

• 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

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

[ More Music Reviews ]

Alliance: Fire And Grace

Melodic Hard Rock/AOR

4.5/5.0

Website Facebook Twitter
Escape Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 15.05.2019 | Released: 24.05.2019

While vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Robert Berry has been busy as of late, notably with 3.2 and All 41, we haven't heard from Alliance in some time. That some time dates back 11 years to 2008's Road To Heaven. Wow! Has it been that long? Yup. Now Berry reunites with band mates Gary Pihl (Boston, Sammy Hagar), David Lauser (Sammy Hagar) for the latest and fifth Alliance album, Fire And Grace, also once more uniting with UK label Escape Music.

Robert Berry

Once more we find the trio delivering a strong platter of classic AOR melodic hard rock. The Alliance sound is undeniable and infinitely accessible and entertaining. Song composition is at a premium: expansive songs built upon strong melodies and harmony, enthusiastic rhythm and groove, and then infused with Berry's strong melodic voice and Gary Pihl's soaring guitar solos.

As for the songs, you will not be disappointed in the least. However, my digital promo download did come up short. It was missing one song, namely track four, I'll Have Some Of That. It must be lost in the Cloud somewhere. Otherwise, you'll find some brisk rockers with Reason, Fast Forward, and the short and roaring Raise Your Glass, complete with some gang vocals. More AOR groove comes with Time, and the symphonic and stirring Uncertain. Tunes get strong and heavier with Don't Stop The Wheel Turning and Real Thing. Alliance mellows a bit with The Same where the acoustic guitar suggests a ballad, yet the song rises to some solid melodic rock. Honestly, Fire And Grace is a fine return to form for Alliance, another creative and entertaining album of classic AOR melodic rock from this talented trio. Easily recommended.

Black Horizon: Dark Light

Heavy/Power Metal

3.0/5.0

Hailing from France, Black Horizon has been active in their country's underground metal scene since 1998. But in nearly 20 years their musical output has been limited ... [ 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.

Fire And Grace is a fine return to form for Alliance, another creative and entertaining album of classic AOR melodic rock from this talented trio. Easily recommended.

Alphabetical Index

The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]