Start off with a killer song and keep the party going till the last note of the very last track appears to have been Vega’s ‘raison d’être’ going into album number five ‘Only Human’ and if you like spirited Melodic Hard Rock it’s hard to go past this one. It constantly amaze me how these guys who have been with us since 2009 – a mere nine years can constantly produce music of this quality but here they may even have topped their previous high standards.
Starting with a brilliant one-two that will have your jaw hitting the floor Vega, from the off, are clearly firing on all cylinders. To start with there’s the stunning Hard Rock party of ‘Let’s Have Fun Tonight’ followed by the slightly more restrained and heavier ‘Worth Dying For’; and just to underline that they can do no wrong ‘Last Man Standing’ which starts with a spoken word intro takes us in a more melodic mid-paced territory – and they handle all three beautifully.
On an album that only has one failing – a complete failure to disappoint – Vega are one of those rare bands who with each release have you wondering how many old songs they will have to drop from their setlist such are the quality of the new songs.
Right at the top of that list for me this time are the likes of the uplifting blue sky feeling of ‘Come Back Again’ which seems to have been poured from a wonderful molten mix of modern and Classic Rock and even gentle Country sounds; ‘All Over Now’ that melds Pop and Rock with the emphasis on the latter; the slower building rocker ‘Standing Still’ and the well-heeled ballad ‘Turning Pages.’ Most bands would kill just to have one of those on their album.
If you love vintage Bon Jovi and Def Leppard and wonder what those bands would sound like if they’d kept to that classic sound but been brought sonically up to date then Vega might just be the closest we’ll get to finding out.
Stunning stuff.
