Lavalle – Dear Sanity Review

2013 had ben a big year in the melodic rock scene as far as new bands and debuts go, and once again Kivel Records have unearthed another gold nugget....

lavalle_cover

Released By : Kivel Music

Release Date : August 2013

Link : https://www.facebook.com/pages/LAVALLE/531688533525203

 

Line Up:

Carsten ‘The Lizard’ Schultz (vocals)

Eddie LaValle (guitar)

Paul Logue (bass)

Ramy Ali (drums)

 

Tracklist:

1. Fading Like the Sun

2. Scared to Love

3. Don’t Cry

4. One Day At a Time

5. Call of The Wolf

6. The Lonely Ones

7. Smoke and Mirrors

8. Break Your Heart

9. Rock Your World

10. Wait to Long

 

As far as I can tell, and feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, guitarist and ringleader of LAVALLE, the aptly named Eddie LaValle is a relative newcomer to the big leagues of the melodic rock arena. As far as the rest of the band goes though, LaValle is joined by some pretty respectable company. EVIDENCE ONE vocalist Carsten ‘Lizard’ Schultz, drummer Ramy Ali also from EVIDENCE ONE, EDEN’S CURSE bass master Paul Logue, and also joining a little later into the project was one of the go-to keyboardists on the melodic rock scene today Alessandro Del Veccio. Not a bad circles of friends if you can get them. The aim of this project was to create high-quality, international melodic rock of the eighties variety, but with the added production bonuses that today’s technology allows for. In short, the fact is that the band definitely succeeded in their endeavors with DEAR SANITY, which may well be the best pure Melodic Rock album of 2013 and if not the best, it’s certainly up there with them.

The general feel of the album is along the DOKKEN line of melodic rock, but then there are these powerful chorus vocal harmonies that bring back memories of the highest points in DEF LEPPARD’S discography. Carsen Schultz absolutely hits his performance on this album out of the park and is a perfect choice for this sort of music. His voice is fiiled with feeling and color, and on DEAR SANITYhe displays a mid-range prowess that is probably one of the best of the current crop of melodic rock singers. Of course great vocalists can only shine when there is something strong behind them, which is where Eddie Lavalle comes into play. Now I’m not sure what this guy has done before this album, or where he has been hiding, but let me tell you now… If you are a fan of the crunchy melody filled guitar work of guys like George Lynch and Vito Bratta than you’re in for a treat. The riffs are catchy enough to get stuck in your head, but also varied enough to keep your ears pricking up. The lead work is fantastic too and shows Eddie Lavalle to be technically sound but still able to find the right tons and coloring to make his guitar sing time and time again. This is most evident in more shall we say ‘rocked up’ tracks like CRY OF THE WOLF, ROCK YOUR WORLD and especially SMOKE AND MIRRORS, would could easily pass as a LYNCH MOB tune.

Like any good band in the genre though, LAVALLE also know how to slow things down a little when it’s called for. Songs like THE LUCKY ONES, which is pure eighties radio rock and would have been an MTV hit back in the day, DON’T CRY which is a ballad with balls and then two more AOR moments in WAIT TOO LONG and BREAK YOUR HEART all head a little bit closer to the area dominated by WINGER or in a slightly lesser sense DRIVE, SHE SAID. Catering to my liking also is the fact that even when LAVALLE slow things down it never sounds trite or overly cheesy.

2013 had ben a big year in the melodic rock scene as far as new bands and debuts go, and once again Kivel Records have unearthed another gold nugget. If well-produced, melodic and meaningful rock with stellar vocals and punchy guitar is your thing, then it would be a good idea to spend some time with DEAR SANITY, a great debut for a band that has a big future.

 

Written by Zeezee

Ratings    Zeezee    9/10

 

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