This month marks one full year since the debut album from Chez Kane stormed the scene, An album that ended up in the top of many lists of the best releases from last year which considering how many great albums came out last year that’s pretty impressive. Chez started out as one of three sisters fronting the U.K. based melodic rock band Kane’d, With whom she released two albums to date: 2015’s Rise and 2018’s Show me your skeleton, that band is very different from what you hear on Chez’s debut solo album. The inspiration for this album came when Danny Rexon of swedish legends Crazy Lixx came across some of the cover songs Chez recorded on YouTube (she has many up on there now and they’re excellent)
Danny said in an interview “I’ve long felt that the contemporary melodic rock scene is missing an important piece of what I think made the genre, at least to some extent, So great in the late 80s and early 90s, and that is the quintessential female rocker. There are tons of bands in the melodic rock genre, But I feel like we’re missing that great female solo artist singing hard rock. A kind of Lee Aaron, Lita Ford, or Robin Beck for the new decade. So, The mission was clear to me from day one: Give the fans a female rocker that will remind them of the powerful rock anthems of the past.” This album definitely succeeds in it’s goal, and much like many of the great newer acts carrying the torch for 80s style hard rock, Chez’s debut sounds both authentically 80s and yet with its own modern flavor.
Bright keyboard playing starts off album opener “Better than love” which also features something very 80s, the saxophone solo! This one sounds like something Pat Benatar would’ve recorded back in the day. Next up is “All of it” a feet stomping anthem that reminds me a bit of early Vixen, with some great melodic riffs and a great guitar solo. “Rocket on the radio” is the easiest pick for a single and a mission statement for this album and it’s aim. you definitely hear Danny’s style all over this, that energetic, melodic, arena ready rock with big choruses that his band Crazy Lixx is known for. This song just drives you and makes you cheer for Chez to dominate the airwaves. “Get it on” musically exists somewhere between Pat Benatar and the first album by Saraya.
“Too late for love” reminds me a lot of the self titled album from Heart, I think that if this song had come out around the end of the 80s it would’ve been all over the radio, the keyboards with those melodic riffs and leads are major ear candy. “Defender of the heart” has the pop rock sound that made Bonnie Tyler famous, this is vintage 80s radio rock. My personal favorite song on this incredible album is “Ball n’ Chain” with it’s driving rhythms and Chez’s voice just gives me chills on this song, This is the sort of powerful melodic anthem that Scandal achieved with their song “The warrior” (Chez did an excellent cover of that song on YouTube if you, like me, wanted to hear her sing that)
Great riffs and solos dominate “Midnight rendezvous” that isn’t far removed from dangerous curves era Lita Ford and “Die in the name of love” is another great track that evokes more of that Pat Benatar and Vixen influence. The album closes with “Dead end street” another one of my favorites. Chez and Danny really succeeded in resurrecting the melodic rock female solo artist, This album carries the torch for the women who blazed that trail in the past and while there are similarities to be found to past artists, Chez makes this album her own with her incredible voice and Danny’s top tier songwriting. This album is packed with great songs and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
9/10