Friday 28 February 2014

Adrenaline Mob - Men of Honor Review


Adrenaline Mob - Men of Honor [Hard Rock]


Fans who listened to Adrenaline Mob's last studio album Omerta would have already gotten used to the idea that a band featuring one of progressive metal's most recognizable figures - vocalist Russell Allen - would not be playing anything resembling music of that sort.

Unsurprisingly, Men of Honor continues largely in the same vein as Omerta



The first few seconds of the opening track, "Mob Is Back", give away everything that will happen throughout the rest of the record. Debutant drummer A.J. Pero's fills mesh with some heavily-effected leads by guitarist Mike Orlando before leading into the song's main riff, which is a chugger more along the lines of Motley Crue or late Pantera than, say, Symphony X.

The lyrics to "Mob Is Back" scream straightforward, in-your-face anthemic rock. Trite as it sounds, these songs were clearly written not for the tech-heads but instead for a more casual audience.



There are even acoustic tracks on this album - an example being the above song, "Crystal Clear", which, perhaps not unexpectedly, is a love song. Allen's power and versatility really shine through on this track (tired lyrics notwithstanding); the space that the clean guitar and understated drumming afford Allen really lets him work his entire (still very impressive) range. 

Indeed, Allen's star shines the brightest throughout the album. Though the effort required of him here is negligible compared to even the average Symphony X production, the quality of his delivery does not flag and is frankly quite delightful to listen to in this sort of setting (if he had sold out and re-packaged himself as a mainstream, Daughtry-esque performer, imagine how much dough he would be raking in).

Pero (of Twisted Sister fame, among other bands) is simply taking it easy here, beating the hell out of his kit and not trying anything too complex (not the worst way for a drummer in his mid-fifties to pick up more cheques).

Perhaps the weakest link on the album, musically speaking, is Orlando. Although his "Zakk Wylde version 2.0" lead playing is perhaps appropriate given the style of this album, one would think that if he had more diverse chops to show, he would have taken the opportunity to show them, given that this is after all his highest-profile project to date. I finished the album with my expectations largely met save for the guitar work. Here's hoping that if these guys continue to produce albums, they make it a point to showcase Orlando more (if he has anything more to show).

★★★☆☆ Average - Half of album is listenable