ROSS THE BOSS - review added 20th October 2010
Album Review: Hailstorm (2010)
For fans of: Power Metal... and eagles covered in lightning
Ross The Boss - Patrick Fuchs on vocals, Ross "The Boss" Friedman on guitars, Carsten Kettering on bass, Matthias Mayer on drums - is the modern day musical outlet for the ex-Manowar guitarist. Ross The Boss was a founder of the legendary band and was there for several of their biggest albums. He may have left back in the late 1980s, but "Hailstorm" (along with the 2008 RTB release "New Metal Leader") continue the legacy in fine form.
Yep, the sound of Ross The Boss really is Manowar through and through, Okay, it's not quite as cheesy, and there isn't much in the way of leather undercrackers and Blue-Oyster-Bar chaps, but this album is hard hitting, melodramatic power metal to the core.
There are oodles of speaker-wrecking drums and headache-causing basslines. The vocals are good and very apt, and Ross' guitar playing is perfectly suited to this style of music. He certainly sounds mighty fine, kicking out solos and boisterous riffs with the best of 'em. He quite accurately describes RTB as a band, not just a glorified solo project, and he's right. Such is the quality of his playing, however, I don't think there would be too many complaints if he turned the band into more of a technical showcase for his own fretwork.
Song wise, most of the album is highly enjoyable, if unexceptional. However, a few moments do stand out. 'Burn Alive' is brilliant fun. In fact it's so good I had to check it wasn't a cover of a song from many moons ago. People don't write songs like this anymore do they? It's a beast of a party metal track that's going to slay in rock clubs across the world. 'Great Gods Glorious' is a fine instrumental which puts the latest Joe Satriani album to shame. 'Among The Ruins' is a surprisingly good ballad I could imagine a ye-olde knight singing to his fair maiden.
In summation...
I like this album. It isn't going to change the world, but it's good 'n' solid and great fun.
Check out... 'Burn Alive'.
Track List:
01. I.A.G.
02. Kingdom Arise
03. Dead Man's Curve
04. Hailstorm
05. Burn Alive
06. Crom
07. Behold The Kingdom
08. Great Gods Glorious
09. Shining Path
10. Among The Ruins
11. Empire's Anthem
Label: AFM Records
Artist's website(s): Ross The Boss | MySpace | Facebook
