• 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 ]

Cleanbreak: Coming Home

Melodic Heavy Metal Rock

4.5/5.0

Facebook Instagram
Frontiers Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 05.07.2022 | Released: 08.07.2022

It's been a long and interesting musical career for vocalist James Durbin. He appeared in 2011's eighth season of American Idol, only to get bumped in the Top 4. Undaunted, Durbin would record several solo studio albums, sing for the iconic Quiet Riot, and then return for next solo album, The Beast Awakens under the name Durbin for Frontiers Music. The album was a solid representation of classic heavy metal made relevant in 2021.

Cleanbreak

A little over a year later, and after working with Frontiers, Durbin and the label have put together another Durbin project: Cleanbreak. The band features some label stablemates and metal rock alumni: Mike Flyntz (guitar) of Riot V with Perry Richardson (bass) and Robert Sweet (drum) of Stryper. Durbin also recruited Frontiers songwriter and producer Alessandro Del Vecchio who helped with both jobs, but also added keyboards and bgvs. I know what you're thinking? This should be powerhouse band with jamming tunes.

And you be right. After several listens, several descriptions come to mind. Hard and heavy. Energetic and fast. (Some songs can border on power metal rock.) Songs large on tough riffs and punchy, heavy, and groove-laden rhythm section. And Flyntz rips up his fret board with dastardly dynamic solos. Said simply: These gel into the power and punch of heavy metal rock. Yet not without essential song melody and vocal harmony. Even though he has an assertive metal style, Durbin's vocal style lifts both aspects. Essentially then, this album is rowdy, roaring album without a dull moment. They heavy metal rock leaps from the gate with Coming Home and then is further accelerated by Dying Breed, We Are The Warriors, Still Fighting, and Cleanbreak, only to highlight a few favorites. In case you're wondering. There are no lame ballads here. Actually, there are no ballads whatsoever.

All in all, vocalist James Durbin's new project, Cleanbreak, simply kicks ass from start to finish; a fine example of classic melodic heavy metal rock made current and vital. Recommended.

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

Vocalist James Durbin's new project, Cleanbreak, simply kicks ass from start to finish; a fine example of classic melodic heavy metal rock made current and vital. 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 ]

• Views: 14K
• Active Users: 3.7K
• New Users: 3.1K
• Event Count: 41K

Source: Google Analytics