There’s a widespread and misguided belief that hard rock died in the 90’s, A lie that couldn’t be further from the truth. Sure, there isn’t really a single city that is the epicenter of the scene the way that Los Angeles was during the 80’s. But the scene is alive and well worldwide and thanks to the internet we have the tools to find these bands.
As a music journalist and insatiable music junkie it’s been my constant mission to find great bands and I especially love finding new ones to support, Enter Rocket Queen.
Rocket Queen hail from Spain and have an old school early 80’s glam metal sound with modern rock elements, prior to this album they released two ep’s: 2015’s First Round and 2020’s Back To The 80’s, The first EP had a different singer but the second leveled up with current singer Judy Jade.
Five years between each release seems to pay off with each release being better than the last and One Last Night is no exception, This album rocks!
“Burn The City” starts things off with a proper muted riff and pounding drums before picking up the pace, The vocals kick in and Judy comes across as having the grit of Stephen Pearcy but through a delivery more resembling Lee Aaron, musically I get a lot of early Dokken in this song but with a modern sleaze metal twist. I love it when a band comes out swinging on an opening track and this one pulls no punches.
“Nothing Good” starts off with a harder riff but slows the pace a bit, The more melodic while still rocking nature of this song reminds me a bit of Chrissy Steele. The rhythm section of Dave Drågon on bass and Johan on drums really drives this song and the guitars by Gaby Rocketz and Gabi Bultaco provide the necessary power with the lead guitars complimenting the rhythm throughout.
“Where Dreams Come True” is up next and is a song filled with daydream passionate longing that was a staple of 80’s power ballads, the melodies in this song are fantastic and the guitar solo really shines over the great rhythms here. Judy’s vocals recalling Lee Aaron around her Body Rock album era.
“Like A Bomb” charges out with some slightly Bryan Adams style guitar work but harder, the band balancing the melodies in the riffs with the groove of the rhythm section. Another great guitar solo shreds over pounding drums, Had this song been released in the early 90’s I feel like it would’ve been a radio hit. Definitely one of the stronger songs on the album.
“90 Ways To Die” starts off with some glam metal riffing that would’ve felt right at home on Poison’s debut before going full Dangerous Curves era Lita Ford, This song has a lot of attitude and just straight up kicks ass. It’s songs like this that are among the many reasons I love rock n roll. Fiery, well played, well sung, and full of great riffs and melodies.
“Heaven’s On Fire” starts with a great drum beat before getting into mid tempo riffs, Another great track with a strong Lita Ford influence but I’d say Judy has a much greater range than Lita and she just destroys on this song. The guitar solo section of this song is breathtaking.
“The Worst Of Me” is slightly a bit punkier in the riffs, But vocally Judy sounds a bit like Sandi Saraya and that’s high praise from me. The changes in the rhythms between the verses and the chorus really keep the whole thing sounding impressive, from the crashing drums, To the groove of the bass line, To the fantastic guitar work this is a GREAT song.
“Queen Of Hearts” has a slight Use Your Illusion era Guns N’ Roses sound to the opening riff before going slightly more in a direction I would describe as Lee Aaron meets Hardcore Superstar.
“Welcome To The Party” is another great song that has a vibe that fits its title, An anthem for a wild night. The playing rocks consistently throughout this song. I can see this going over really well live, Play this one loud!
The album ends with the title track and as far as I’m aware their first single from the album, There’s a hard edged, Down and dirty vibe about this song that I love and this is the song that hooked me on Rocket Queen. There’s an almost early Ozzy influence on the guitar work on this song but with elements of Ratt and Lee Aaron. This song just slams and grooves in a way that you can either headbang or dance to, In any case this song will get you going.
What a great album, It has everything you could want from a quality glam metal/ Hard rock album. Great guitar playing, Check. Big sounding drums and bass, Check. Powerful vocals that hit the right emotional points and kick ass, Check! Great melodies and great songwriting, Check!
We’ve had some great releases in the hard rock genre this year and Rocket Queen have just released one of the best ones, If you love great 80’s/ early 90’s style rock n roll you definitely don’t want to miss this album.
9/10
You can find this album and their two EP’s on their Bandcamp page.