Fighter V? Never heard of them? Neither had I. No one sent me this one, someone wrote in at the end of the year and recommended it. It’s a shame really as this is just the sort of thing we love and I could easily see this as gracing the best of the year listings.
Hailing from Switzerland the land of Gotthard, Krokus and China amongst others, Fighter V are the real deal delivering some nice and punchy 80’s style melodic hard rock that in another decade could have made them household names. And those household names you feel are a big influence on them are the real big ones – like Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and at the more AOR end of things bands like Journey.
It all starts off nicely too with the keys introducing a nice meaty riff to opener ‘Dangerous’ and a JBJ-style vocal. It’s all rather promising really! And you hold that thought for ‘Frontline’ that follows with a flurry of synth and guitar and more of an AOR feel. And before you know it you’re tapping your foot nicely to ‘Heat of the City’ which even might be the best of that opening salvo- a nice up-tempo rocker that leaves you in no doubt that Fighter V are a force to be reckoned with.
And all that happens before you get to hear the first single – ‘City of Sinners’ which comes rater late in the tracklisting, all shining and splendid with it’s addictive chorus. It’s also a song that gets better with each listen. And the best thing about Fighter is that there’s really nothing any better or worse in-between – even the ballad ‘Save Your Love For Me’ is remarkably well-written and actually threatens to steal the show!
On an album like this where you find yourself seriously impressed from start to finish you hope for something great in that final track and ‘Turn It Up’ doesn’t disappoint leaving the listener with an amped up good-time rocker fit for any party.
Very good indeed and as I said if I’d heard this earlier it would be amongst the best of the year..
