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Black Rose Maze: Black Rose Maze
Black Rose Maze 2020 Debut Album Art

Black Rose Maze: Black Rose Maze

Melodic Hard Rock
4.0/5.0

The voice propelling new musical project Black Rose Maze is Canadian singer and songwriter Rosa Laricchiuta. Ms Laricchiuta has quite the pedigree: performing in 2015 on Quebec's La Voix with Def Leppard, Kelly Clarkson, and Melissa Etheridge; two albums under her belt in her native country; and touring with Trans Siberian Orchestra. Which brings us to her new project, Black Rose Maze. Rosa Laricchiuta was introduced to Frontiers Music by TSO vocalists Dino Jelusick (Animal Drive) and Jeff Scott Soto.

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Rosa Laricchiuta

First things first, Ms Laricchiuta has a terrific voice, singing strong, clean, and melodic with little strain. As they say, she can really belt it out. As a songwriter, Laricchiuta has a keen sense for song rhythm and groove, melody and harmony, and dropping catchy refrains. Lyrical references seem to turn on more personal nuances. All these things are wrapped in heavier melodic hard rock, twisted with a metal edge thanks to sharp riffage and spry guitar solos. Between the beefy rhythm section and crisp riffage, you get songs notably heavy and dense, wherein some listeners may say Black Rose Maze is drifting towards more modern rock. But we're probably splitting hairs now.

Exploring a few songs, I found myself leaning towards those where the song melody and harmony rose above the heaviness, such as Free, Let Me Be, Call Me Now, or the quite catchy, and my favorite song, Laws Of Attraction featuring Jeff Scott Soto. But Laricchiuta can get into her heavy metal rock groove with songs like Only You, Maze, or the swift moving You Can't Stop Me. All said, Rosa Laricchiuta's Black Rose Maze project showcases her strengths as an exceptional vocalist and a skilled songwriter, offering listeners some heavier, perhaps more modern, melodic hard rock. Hopefully there's a long and prosperous career for this talented musician.



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The Bottom Line

Rosa Laricchiuta's Black Rose Maze project showcases her strengths as an exceptional vocalist and a skilled songwriter, offering listeners some heavier, perhaps more modern, melodic hard rock.

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