Sometimes names conjure up certain images and to me a name like ‘Neonstrike’ sounded like it would be worn by a hard edged Sleaze Rock band with maybe a side order of Metal thrown in. I’m saying that of course because it isn’t quite what I got – Neonstrike you see purvey a type of Sleaze that is more akin to new Glam players like Reckless Love meshed with strains of Nightwish (sans the Metallic elements) rather than their more Metal-leaning cousins like Crashdiet and co. As their bio says: “Neonstrike is made up of members of Asira, Pythia and Cairiss, united by a mutual love of classic glam rock and all things 80s. Having already taken on the South of England together in cover band Hair Force One, they turned their hand to writing new anthems which capture the spirit of a bygone neon era”.
Now never having heard either Asira, Pythia or Cairiss I can’t comment but from the sounds of opener ‘On the Front Lines of Love’ I can tell you that Neonstrike have a definite key-laden approach and more melodic stance than you might imagine. The song itself is medium-paced and full of harmonies that are more aligned with AOR than traditional hair metal. It’s a lush song, dripping with emotion and a nice light, blue-sky opener.
‘Against the Storm’ that follows starts with a female lead and slides into a deftly crafted mid-tempo power ballad as a synth stab hits and a male vocal intercedes before its shadowed by a nice duet, it’s a song that soothes you yet fails to spark any real fire. ‘Ignite the Night’ of course sounds like more power and passion, and indeed after a melodic start it gathers some grunt but the female vocals again give it that underlying Nightwish feel. Again it’s not what you might expect and as it rides the synth lines it does grow on you especially as the guitars kick in.
Closing track ‘Heaven Knows’ takes us back to lighter territory – starting with piano it turns out to be the most complete song here, but it’s a gentle ballad that owes far much more to vintage AOR than it does to the sounds of the Glam era late eighties. And that to me is the big question mark here – the bio and press reads Glam and 80’s throughout like a stick of Blackpool rock but that’s not what I hear here, this is far more subtle fare, great at what it is but not a big-haired as you might imagine. Maybe a full length release will see those other well-hidden influences shine through?