WHITE WIDDOW

Only formed 2 years ago, Australian melodic hard rockers White Widdow arrive on the scene with their self-titled debut on AOR Heaven. Depending on your musical proclivities you will either dismiss this as a mindless slab of clichéd cheese or an adept pastiche of anthemic 80s arena rock à la Bon Jovi, Europe and Survivor. I lie somewhere between those two. Whilst 'White Widdow' is indeed a clichéd to fuck album of heard-it-all-before guitar riffs, standard 4-4 rock drumming in the main, combined with a prominent infusion of 80s synth sounds and up tempo compositions that ooze blithesome melodies through virtually every bar of music, this bunch of Aussies do it ever so well and certainly know how to craft an infectiously engaging song in said style. Frontman Jules Millis (aka Julez Mephisto from the Deadthings according to the press sheet) has a likeable voice that perfectly suits the idioms of the melodic hard rock genre, delivering every hookline (of which there are an abundance) with a note-perfect performance in smoother than smooth tones and never sounds like he's stretching his vocal chords at the higher end (unlike some other culprits who sing beyond their abilities). There are no stand-out tracks as such, rather every song repeats the same formula, but such is White Widdow's chosen path of retro apery, thus if you don't like one track, chances are you'll like none. The converse is also true, of course. And there lies a weakness in the album - lack of variety through formulaic mimicry. That said, if synth-heavy sing-along melodious hard rock is what you thrive upon, then White Widdow most definitely deserve you attention. Everyone else, stay well clear as it'll probably make you want to stick your head in a vat of sulphuric acid.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

AOR Heaven

Album

WHITE WIDDOW

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

44:37

RELEASE DATE:

1st Nov 2010

TRACK LISTING

1) Shoukai (Intro)
2) Tokyo Rain
3) Broken Hearts Won't Last Forever
4) We've Got the Wings
5) Cross to Bare
6) Don't Fail Me Now
7) Spirit of Fire
8) Shadows of Love
9) One More Day
10) Change of Passion
11) Fire & Ice

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Australia

"Depending on your musical proclivites you will either dismiss this as a mindless slab of clichéd cheese or an adept pastiche of anthemic 80s arena rock à la Bon Jovi, Europe and Survivor."