REVOLUTION SAINTS
When I first heard last year that Frontiers' president Serafino Perugino had put the Revolution Saints project into action, my interest was piqued BIG TIME for several reasons. This man is a master at putting awesome musicians together, who he has worked with, and delivering fine albums. I'm a big fan of both Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake, Dio, Lion. Hurricane etc) and Jack Blades (Night Ranger, Rubicon, Shaw/Blades, Damn Yankees etc). Plus I'm a massive fan of Deen Castronovo (Tony MacAlpine, Cacophony, Bad English, Soul Sirkus etc as well of being the current drummer with Journey) and, of course, I'm a huge, huge fan of Journey themselves, including the Steve Augeri and Arnel Pineda eras. I’m also a massive fan of Bad English. Put all of this together and the thought of Deen, Jack and Doug playing together and releasing an album gave me serious goose bumps!
I have now been listening to the 'Revolution Saints' album for nearly two weeks and I'm still getting goose bumps. I honestly didn't know what to expect but I definitely didn't expect one of the finest Journey albums that Journey didn't actually write! 'Revolution Saints', both band and album, is magnificent and proves, once and for all, that Deen Castronovo should never be regarded EVER, as just a fabulous drummer, because he has an utterly amazing voice that really should have been heard so much more over the years. I've seen him sing two or three songs every time Journey tour and I always think to myself, "why doesn't this man front a band?" If I didn't know better I would tell you this was, hand on heart, a brand new Journey album and, arguably, their best since 'Escape'. It's that good.
Joined by Frontiers Records in-house keyboard and song writing wizz Alessandro Del Vecchio, who also produced the album, this a veritable gold mine of melodic rock/AOR classics. Doug Aldrich, who is a fantastic guitarist in his own right, absolutely shines on this release and manages to match Neal Schön's style of playing superbly and Jack Blades’ bass and vocals... well, he absolutely never lets you down. Add the icing that Neal Schön and Arnel Pineda appear on a track apiece and any self respecting fan of melodic hard rock and AOR should not be without this release in their collection. I honestly cannot froth anymore from the mouth because the men in white coats will come and take me away!
I only have the standard twelve track edition to review but a deluxe edition comes with bonus tracks and a DVD, which includes a making of documentary and promo videos. I will, of course, be buying that at the earliest opportunity! You might know from my reviews that I like many genres of rock and metal, but when melodic rock is done this well I'm an absolute soft sponge. It has always been one of my favourite genres and I just couldn't have wished for a more fantastic album played by some seriously good musicians. Wonderful stuff and my 2015 best albums list has started right here, right now.
I have now been listening to the 'Revolution Saints' album for nearly two weeks and I'm still getting goose bumps. I honestly didn't know what to expect but I definitely didn't expect one of the finest Journey albums that Journey didn't actually write! 'Revolution Saints', both band and album, is magnificent and proves, once and for all, that Deen Castronovo should never be regarded EVER, as just a fabulous drummer, because he has an utterly amazing voice that really should have been heard so much more over the years. I've seen him sing two or three songs every time Journey tour and I always think to myself, "why doesn't this man front a band?" If I didn't know better I would tell you this was, hand on heart, a brand new Journey album and, arguably, their best since 'Escape'. It's that good.
Joined by Frontiers Records in-house keyboard and song writing wizz Alessandro Del Vecchio, who also produced the album, this a veritable gold mine of melodic rock/AOR classics. Doug Aldrich, who is a fantastic guitarist in his own right, absolutely shines on this release and manages to match Neal Schön's style of playing superbly and Jack Blades’ bass and vocals... well, he absolutely never lets you down. Add the icing that Neal Schön and Arnel Pineda appear on a track apiece and any self respecting fan of melodic hard rock and AOR should not be without this release in their collection. I honestly cannot froth anymore from the mouth because the men in white coats will come and take me away!
I only have the standard twelve track edition to review but a deluxe edition comes with bonus tracks and a DVD, which includes a making of documentary and promo videos. I will, of course, be buying that at the earliest opportunity! You might know from my reviews that I like many genres of rock and metal, but when melodic rock is done this well I'm an absolute soft sponge. It has always been one of my favourite genres and I just couldn't have wished for a more fantastic album played by some seriously good musicians. Wonderful stuff and my 2015 best albums list has started right here, right now.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Frontiers Records
Album
REVOLUTION SAINTS
Review by Rick Tilley
RUNNING TIME:
52:02
RELEASE DATE:
23rd February 2015
TRACK LISTING
1) Back on My Trail
2) Turn Back Time
3) You're Not Alone
4) Locked Out of Paradise
5) Way to the Sun; 6) Dream On
7) Don't Walk Away
8) Here Forever
9) Strangers to This Life
10) Better World
11) How to Mend a Broken Heart
12) In the Name of the Father
2) Turn Back Time
3) You're Not Alone
4) Locked Out of Paradise
5) Way to the Sun; 6) Dream On
7) Don't Walk Away
8) Here Forever
9) Strangers to This Life
10) Better World
11) How to Mend a Broken Heart
12) In the Name of the Father
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
USA
"...one of the finest Journey albums that Journey didn't actually write!"
