CHINA - review added 9th March 2011

Album Review: Light Up The Dark (2011)

For fans of: Hard Rock... and The East

China - Light Up The Dark Following on from our review of Shakra a week or two ago, we now have another Swiss band in the shape of China. The band - currently Eric St. Michaels on vocals, Claudio Matteo and Mack Schildknecht on guitars, Beat Kofmehl on bass, and Billy La Pietra on drums - formed back in the mid 1980s and have, along the way, actually managed some minor chart success.

"Light Up The Dark" is China's fifth studio album, though the release is a little complicated. The album actually came out in the band's home country in early 2010, but it has taken until now to get a full international release...so whether this is a 2010 or 2011 album is up for serious debate.

The sound, with help from producers Chris Johnson (Buck Cherry, Evanescence) and Michael Parnin (Steve Stevens, King's X), is a mixture of grungy hard rock, soft rock and more flowery indie pop stylings. The variety of approaches make for an interesting release that doesn't ever get samey, but it also means not every song is going to be successful if the listener doesn't like all those genres.

Performance-wise it's all pretty good. The vocals are fine, as is the musicianship...but this is not a band like Mr. Big where every facet of the sound will blow your mind. China is full of deep competence rather than outright brilliance.

On the song front, the mid-tempo 'She's So Hot' hits the mark, the racier rocking 'Girl On My Screen' is even better, and the hard rocking, folk/country tinged 'Lonely Rider' is better again. The ballad 'Gates Of Heaven' is above average, although it's missing that last few percentage points of magic. 'Stay' is very accessible and sounds like a song that could worry the modern charts.

In Summation:

I love the variety on "Light Up The Dark". It's not all successful, but as a whole it's a fresh sounding album with a contemporary edge that should appeal to a broad audience.

Entertainment/Enjoyment:

Musicianship:

Vocals:

Song Writing:

Production:

Overall (Not An Average Of The Above):

Check out... The variety.

Track List:

01. Light Up The Dark
02. Hey Yo
03. She's So Hot
04. Girl On My Screen
05. Lonely Rider
06. Gates Of Heaven
07. On My Way
08. Stay
09. Deadly Sweet
10. Trapped In The City
11. Right Here, Right Now
12. Flesh And Bone
13. Rhythm Of The Flame (bonus tracks, limited edition only)
14. Can’t Call It Working (bonus tracks, limited edition only)
15. Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor Doctor) (bonus tracks, limited edition only)