Released by Rock Candy Records
Release Date: Out Now!!!
Genre: AOR/Melodic Rock
Links: http://www.rockcandyrecords.com/
Line Up:
Dave Clark Howell : Bass
Eddie Wohl- : Keyboard
Pete Greene- : Drums
Chris Cade : Vocals
Jayson Lane : Guitar
Tracklist:
1. Ready To Rock
2. Livin’ Under The Gun
3. Fire Up The Heart
4. Sleepless Nights
5. Hands Off
6. Lost In The Wild
7. Overheated
8. Top Of The Rock
9. Broken Toys
So many major labels and so many releases, the 1980s in the USA must have been a very interesting period for members of the press, because there was a lot to do in the AOR/Melodic Rock field.
Ever since JOURNEY, BOSTON, TOTO, HEART, FOREIGNER, SURVIVOR and REO SPEEDWAGON became the major bands in the USA during the early 1980s, nearly every major label started signing new bands in the hope to find the next sensation to step into the footsteps of the 7 aforementioned major acts. Hundreds of bands were able to record a major label release during the 1980s and sadly most of them failed to become a success. Towards the end of the 1980s the AOR became Melodic Hardrock (thanks to BON JOVI, EUROPE, DEF LEPPARD and WHITESNAKE’s breakthrough) and the labels started focusing on that ‘Hair Metal’ field.
Some of the bands that were signed however were actually wrongly marketed, but that is another story I will not touch here. Anyway, VALENTINE, DANGER DANGER, AUTOGRAPH and DIVING FOR PEARLS were bands that combined AOR and Melodic Hardrock and one more New York based band that more or less could be added to that list was MELIDIAN.
They released 1 major label release entitled ‘Lost in the wild’ on CBS, but around 1989 it became harder and harder for a new band to breakthrough, although even in 1990 a lot of bands were still successful in the Hair Metal genre. However, like mentioned in the first sentence of this review, there were too many new major label releases and that’s when bands are being overlooked. Not saying this MELIDIAN release was a classic and really sensational album, because the band’s mix of DANGER DANGER and AUTOGRAPH was just good plain 80s Melodic Hardrock, but it definitely should have gotten some more attention back then. If only they had released the SURVIVORish AOR ballad “Sleepless nights” as first single/video, then they might have had their lucky break, because this song alone makes it all worth to check out the new re-issue of this 1989 release.
No bonustracks on this ROCK CANDY re-issue, but as usual, the remastered sound is incredible and the Melodic Hardrock of tunes like “Ready To Rock”, “Livin’ Under The Gun”, “Fire Up The Heart”, “Hands Off” and “Overheated” will please any fan of 80s BON JOVI, DOKKEN, AUTOGRAPH, DANGER DANGER, etc. etc.
Written by Gabor
Ratings Gabor 8/10
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