MrK
clap hands
Russell released a song today for World Autism Awareness Day in honor of his daughter:
Symphony X
- Thread starter Night Prowler
- Start date
MrK
clap hands
Allen/Olzon - Worlds Apart (2020)
Featured player: Russell Allen
Our old pals Frontiers Music are at it again and somehow they’ve convinced Magnus Karlsson to write another 11 tracks full of upbeat, AOR choruses, heavy riffs that occasionally branch off into progressive metal, and more generic lyrics than you can shake a stick at! Russell Allen collects his paycheck and delivers a wonderful performance as always. Since Jorn Lande is no longer interested in the project (for good reason), Frontiers have called up former Nightwish singer Anette Olzon and the results are…less than stellar. By this point, we all know what to expect from these releases and the simple fact here is that Anette is just not the same caliber of vocalist as Russell or Jorn (nor is Magnus accustomed to writing material for her voice). The result is some pretty shaky sounding vocals across the board. Anette sounds unsuited for her lead tracks and unmatched with Russell in their duets. When she performs trade-offs on the verse leads she simply doesn’t fit well with the material, especially going toe to toe with Allen. When she sings choruses on the duets she exists merely as a layer (no matter how high she is turned up in the mix); she simply feels like an accompaniment to the superior, fuller, and more powerful Russell Allen. A song like I’ll Never Leave You would have been an absolute banger for Jorn (or Russell), but with Anette at the helm it fizzles. I like Anette, but this is not the best match for her voice.
Highlights: Never Die, the disturbingly catchy chorus of My Enemy
Lowlights: all of Anette’s tracks and absolute clunker Who You Really Are
Grade: C (6.5/10)
3 Rules - Rule of 3
Featured player: Jason Rullo
Jason Rullo’s second (and final) appearance on this side project deep dive is the biggest stylistic departure on the entire journey. Rullo rocks, jams, swings, and jives on this prog metal jazz fusion trio album. No vocals here, just 52 minutes of instrumental guitar, bass and drums going bonkers. There’s nothing avant garde happening here, just Rullo tearing it up with some unknown/newcomer musicians: the particularly impressive Ron Sanborn on guitar and bassist Artha Meadors. Sonically, Sanbron shreds with the melodicism of Satriani and the wackiness of Vai but never really activates full shred mode. Creature is a funky fun time, Momento Mori gets heavier and proggier, Tropic of Dancer mixes funky jazz fusion with some heavier licks, From Maine to Spain feels like Satch on steroids, Brain Damage is probably the craziest track here and crosses every genre in six minutes, the title track is a delightful heavier slice of jammage and one of the best here, 34b is more of the same in a good way, Kill The Pain alternates between shoegazey ambience and pummeling riffs, and album closer Bad Preacher riffs us all the way to the finish line. Nothing here is gonna get stuck in your head, but it’s great while it lasts.
Highlights: getting to hear Rullo really let loose and play loosely without the constraints of metal
Lowlights: I really don’t have any. This is a super fun record.
Grade: B+ (8.5/10)
Featured player: Russell Allen
Our old pals Frontiers Music are at it again and somehow they’ve convinced Magnus Karlsson to write another 11 tracks full of upbeat, AOR choruses, heavy riffs that occasionally branch off into progressive metal, and more generic lyrics than you can shake a stick at! Russell Allen collects his paycheck and delivers a wonderful performance as always. Since Jorn Lande is no longer interested in the project (for good reason), Frontiers have called up former Nightwish singer Anette Olzon and the results are…less than stellar. By this point, we all know what to expect from these releases and the simple fact here is that Anette is just not the same caliber of vocalist as Russell or Jorn (nor is Magnus accustomed to writing material for her voice). The result is some pretty shaky sounding vocals across the board. Anette sounds unsuited for her lead tracks and unmatched with Russell in their duets. When she performs trade-offs on the verse leads she simply doesn’t fit well with the material, especially going toe to toe with Allen. When she sings choruses on the duets she exists merely as a layer (no matter how high she is turned up in the mix); she simply feels like an accompaniment to the superior, fuller, and more powerful Russell Allen. A song like I’ll Never Leave You would have been an absolute banger for Jorn (or Russell), but with Anette at the helm it fizzles. I like Anette, but this is not the best match for her voice.
Highlights: Never Die, the disturbingly catchy chorus of My Enemy
Lowlights: all of Anette’s tracks and absolute clunker Who You Really Are
Grade: C (6.5/10)
3 Rules - Rule of 3
Featured player: Jason Rullo
Jason Rullo’s second (and final) appearance on this side project deep dive is the biggest stylistic departure on the entire journey. Rullo rocks, jams, swings, and jives on this prog metal jazz fusion trio album. No vocals here, just 52 minutes of instrumental guitar, bass and drums going bonkers. There’s nothing avant garde happening here, just Rullo tearing it up with some unknown/newcomer musicians: the particularly impressive Ron Sanborn on guitar and bassist Artha Meadors. Sonically, Sanbron shreds with the melodicism of Satriani and the wackiness of Vai but never really activates full shred mode. Creature is a funky fun time, Momento Mori gets heavier and proggier, Tropic of Dancer mixes funky jazz fusion with some heavier licks, From Maine to Spain feels like Satch on steroids, Brain Damage is probably the craziest track here and crosses every genre in six minutes, the title track is a delightful heavier slice of jammage and one of the best here, 34b is more of the same in a good way, Kill The Pain alternates between shoegazey ambience and pummeling riffs, and album closer Bad Preacher riffs us all the way to the finish line. Nothing here is gonna get stuck in your head, but it’s great while it lasts.
Highlights: getting to hear Rullo really let loose and play loosely without the constraints of metal
Lowlights: I really don’t have any. This is a super fun record.
Grade: B+ (8.5/10)
MrK
clap hands
Mike Lepond’s Silent Assassins - Whore of Babylon (2020)
Featured player: Mike LePond + the other two Mikes
The third Silent Assassins album continues in the same vein as the previous two but manages to hone the songwriting into an even more streamlined, successful slab of classic heavy metal. As always, what you’ll get here is part power metal, part hard rock, part trve Maonowar-style metal (specifically see Power of Steel), and a little bit of prog. Everything feels tighter this time and LePond continues to impress as both a bassist and a songwriter. The vocals, however, are the worst they’ve been. Perhaps it’s just a sign of Alan Tecchio’s aging voice, but he occasionally sounds rather weak on the earlier tracks and downright annoying on tracks like Lady Bathory. Guest vocalist Sarah Teets (last heard on the MindMaze album) sings one entire song and it may be one of the lamest things I’ve ever heard - a contender for a future Cheesevivor, indeed. Romeo shows up to program drums, shred a mandolin and add orchestrations and Pinnella also sings backups throughout, plays a prominent piano solo outro on track 3 and some cool organ on the closing number. In the end: Silent Assassins is still a fun project and this album might be the easiest gateway into their sound, despite the terrible album cover and album title. I do hope if LePond continues this project (and I think he should) that he finds a new vocalist.
Highlights: the exceptional Avalon (and especially Lepond’s bass leads), Ides of March, bardcore track Night of the Long Knives, LePond’s bass solos in Tell Tale Heart and Champion, the subdued and Eastern vibes of the title track.
Lowlights: the incredibly lame Champion.
Grade: B (8/10)
Joel Hoektra’s 13 - Running Games (2021)
Featured player: Russell Allen
Whitesnake’s axeman returns with Vinny Appice, Tony Franklin, and Derek Sherinian rounding out the band while Russell croons on top and Jeff Scott Soto is relegated to backing vocals only. This is more of the same as last time - hard rock with some heavier stuff thrown in, a bunch of modern day hair metal vibes, and some AOR hookiness for good measure. The main difference is that Russell is the permanent lead singer this time, making the album feel a bit more complete and intentional rather than a collection of songs. Hoektra’s playing throughout is incredible. He solos, riffs and harmonizes his way through 11 tracks of 70s/80s rock worship with a slick modern production. I just wish the songs felt deeper. It’s a very shallow affair that sounds pleasant but has little staying power. We’re not too far off from Russell Allen’s solo album in terms of tone and song style, but whereas that album felt both lived in and spontaneous, Running Games feels like something built in the studio with a music-by-numbers chart. A listenable, but generic effort.
Highlights: the soaring AOR catchiness of Finish Line, the metallic Fantasy, the serpentine Reach the Sky, the riffing and insane soloing in Take What’s Mine.
Lowlights: Lonely Days is literally dripping in poppy syrup, the verging-on-Adrenaline-Mob levels of cock swinging on Cried Enough For You (though Russell does sound killer here).
Grade: C+ (7/10)
Featured player: Mike LePond + the other two Mikes
The third Silent Assassins album continues in the same vein as the previous two but manages to hone the songwriting into an even more streamlined, successful slab of classic heavy metal. As always, what you’ll get here is part power metal, part hard rock, part trve Maonowar-style metal (specifically see Power of Steel), and a little bit of prog. Everything feels tighter this time and LePond continues to impress as both a bassist and a songwriter. The vocals, however, are the worst they’ve been. Perhaps it’s just a sign of Alan Tecchio’s aging voice, but he occasionally sounds rather weak on the earlier tracks and downright annoying on tracks like Lady Bathory. Guest vocalist Sarah Teets (last heard on the MindMaze album) sings one entire song and it may be one of the lamest things I’ve ever heard - a contender for a future Cheesevivor, indeed. Romeo shows up to program drums, shred a mandolin and add orchestrations and Pinnella also sings backups throughout, plays a prominent piano solo outro on track 3 and some cool organ on the closing number. In the end: Silent Assassins is still a fun project and this album might be the easiest gateway into their sound, despite the terrible album cover and album title. I do hope if LePond continues this project (and I think he should) that he finds a new vocalist.
Highlights: the exceptional Avalon (and especially Lepond’s bass leads), Ides of March, bardcore track Night of the Long Knives, LePond’s bass solos in Tell Tale Heart and Champion, the subdued and Eastern vibes of the title track.
Lowlights: the incredibly lame Champion.
Grade: B (8/10)
Joel Hoektra’s 13 - Running Games (2021)
Featured player: Russell Allen
Whitesnake’s axeman returns with Vinny Appice, Tony Franklin, and Derek Sherinian rounding out the band while Russell croons on top and Jeff Scott Soto is relegated to backing vocals only. This is more of the same as last time - hard rock with some heavier stuff thrown in, a bunch of modern day hair metal vibes, and some AOR hookiness for good measure. The main difference is that Russell is the permanent lead singer this time, making the album feel a bit more complete and intentional rather than a collection of songs. Hoektra’s playing throughout is incredible. He solos, riffs and harmonizes his way through 11 tracks of 70s/80s rock worship with a slick modern production. I just wish the songs felt deeper. It’s a very shallow affair that sounds pleasant but has little staying power. We’re not too far off from Russell Allen’s solo album in terms of tone and song style, but whereas that album felt both lived in and spontaneous, Running Games feels like something built in the studio with a music-by-numbers chart. A listenable, but generic effort.
Highlights: the soaring AOR catchiness of Finish Line, the metallic Fantasy, the serpentine Reach the Sky, the riffing and insane soloing in Take What’s Mine.
Lowlights: Lonely Days is literally dripping in poppy syrup, the verging-on-Adrenaline-Mob levels of cock swinging on Cried Enough For You (though Russell does sound killer here).
Grade: C+ (7/10)