Aside from the off-putting name making you think that the band might just be related to the pop legend and the fact that ‘Herd Instinct’ that opens is just a minute of ‘atmospheric’ waffle that really doesn’t need to be here (as it’s not really an extended introduction to opener ‘One Circumstance’) this is a pretty sprightly release.
If you love your Melodic Rock ‘light on its feet’ then you may well already be familiar with HOS previous 8 studio albums, and if you liked them then little has changed – it’s the same high quality here in 2020 as it was in 1997. It’s still light, uplifting, blue sky AOR with relentless beat and plenty of soaring angelic backing vocals.
It’s not all on target though – ‘One Circumstance’ might be a standout opener, but I really didn’t like the voice-overs on ‘Not Alone’; and whilst the title track is sumptuous and memorable AOR with a Leppard-like sheen and ‘Tyrant’s Tale’ a simply magnificent foray into harder Classic Rock territory a lot later on in the album didn’t have that same impact. Not that there is anything here I’d necessarily describe as filler.
For example ‘Delusion’ stays with that Classic Rock feel but seems to miss a trick, ‘Save Yourself’ similarly seems to be missing something. The harder ‘Sweet Revenge’ that follows though doesn’t miss a thing and is one that you’ll keep going back to;and ‘Scavenger Lizard’ is another standout – riding a great riff all the way to the arena.
We close with the heavy melodies of ‘Like a Fool’ – another sweet tune and the beautiful mid-tempo ‘Falling Down’ which closes things in some style. These guys have been at the top of their game forever and if the review seems a little harsh in places I blame the band for setting impossibly high standards!