SHINING LINE - review added 19th May 2010
Album Review: Shining Line (self-titled) (2010)
For fans of: Hard Rock... and a mixed roster of performers
Italian-based Shining Line is another of those multi-person-projects that have become prevalent in hard rock over the last few years. Built around the talents of drummer and songwriter Pierpaolo "Zorro11" Monti, and his bassist chum Amos Monti, the album sees a plethora of guests touting their talents on a collection of fine tracks.
The main group is completed by Alessandro Del Vecchio on keyboards and production, Marco "Dandy" D'Andrea and Mario Percudani on guitars, and Michael Voss on mixing and mastering. Big name vocalists include Harry Hess, Robin Beck and Michael Bormann.
The sound is a mixture of hard, melodious rock tracks that tread a line between upbeat hard hitters and softer ballads. The album flows well considering the number of contributors, although it's nowhere near as cohesive as an album by a 'normal' band. Head into it with thoughts of a movie soundtrack and you'll be fine.
Best moments include the glorious 'Highway Of Love' with Erik Martensson (Eclipse/W.E.T.), the upbeat 'Strong Enough' with Robbie La Blanc (Blanc Faces), the unsurprisingly good 'Heat Of The Light' featuring Robin Beck, the big spunky 'Can't Stop The Rock' with Mikael Erlandsson (Last Autumn's Dream), the slow and beautiful 'The Meaning Of My Lonely Words' with Michael Shotton, the soothingly-smooth charm of 'Follow The Stars' with Phil Vincent, and the epic power of 'Under Silent Walls - Part 2 - Alone' with MIchael Bormann.
There is some truly magnificent music on this release, but as a whole it's patchy and doesn't flow as well as it should. What these guys need to do next time is put together a proper band with one singer. They clearly have the writing and playing skills to make something bloody special.
Check out... The quality of the songwriting.
Track List:
01. Highway Of Love
02. Amy
03. Strong Enough
04. Heaven's Paths (Instrumental)
05. Heat Of The Light
06. Can't Stop The Rock
07. The Meaning Of My Lonely Words
08. The Infinity In Us
09. Still In Your Heart
10. Homeless Lullaby
11. Follow The Stars
12. Unbreakable Wire
13. Under Silent Walls - Part 1 - Blossom: From Night To Dawn (Instrumental)
14. Under Silent Walls - Part 2 - Alone
15. Under Silent Walls - Part 3 - Epilogue: Death Of Cupid (Instrumental)
Label: Avenue Of Allies
Artist's website(s): MySpace
