Is there anyone in rock more prolific now then Michael Sweet? In an era when most nostalgia acts rest on their laurels and play the hits Michael in the last five years or so has released 3 Stryper albums, 2 albums with George Lynch and two solo albums including the very well received One Sided War. I’ve interviewed Michael a bunch of times and he’s told me he always wants to write and we the audience have benefited from that with some stellar music.
This is a consistently heavier album then One Sided War and at times reminds me of 90’s Megadeth especially on Lay It Down, Never Alone and Shine, Michael’s vocals are also a little grittier in line with the music. Let There Be Love is the sole ballad and is well written but sounds a little out of place compared to the rest of the songs. The decision to add guest soloists was a great idea and there’s some fantastic playing by Ethan Brosh, Joel Hoekstra, Rich Ward and Jeff Loomis that hopefully will attract younger fans to Michael’s music.
So will I give this a ten? No, I’m giving it an eight and maybe a nine. It’s a great heavy metal album from a guy who shows no sign of slowing down and I genuinely believe his best music is ahead of him. It’s out October 11th.
Richie.
