VINCE VOLTAGE
“HARD ROCK SURVIVOR”
Album Review By Iron Mathew

8.5/10

Vince Voltage is a hard rock guitar player from Germany, who has just released his debut solo album ‘Hard Rock Survivor’. Prior to this release, Vince has played in and released albums with Apathy, Ex Wife’s Skull and Pussy Sisster. For this new project, Vince has assembled a number of great musicians, see below for a full rundown, and has proceeded to deliver a hard hitting and melodic collection of rock songs.

The album opens with the title song ‘Hard Rock Survivor’, displaying the bombastic urgency of eighties style Motley Crue. The chorus has one hundred percent sing a long ability with its catchy “hard rock survivor” repetitive chant. ‘Hard Rock Survivor’ is a very hard hitting, heavy rock song with a head bangingly addictive rhythm. All pace and power disappears as ‘Something To Believe In’ rolls in, all mellow and acoustic fuelled. Lighters out, arms waving in the air as you sway from side to side, ‘Something To Believe In’ is a ballad of great quality. Energetic and frenetic, ‘Billy The Kid’ is a short blast of high tempo hard rock, keeping your feet tapping and head nodding from start to finish. The buzzing guitar style riffing that greets the listener when ‘Some Like It Ugly’ jets off, is reminiscent of the NWOBHM evolution, with the song taking on a more moody vibe. ‘Some Like It Ugly’ is infectious with an amazingly catchy chorus.

In 1989 American heavy rockers Skid Row released their self titled debut album and the vibe of their power ballad ’18 And Life’ has been perfectly recreated by Vince Voltage with their own power ballad ‘The Ballad Of Ricky Razor’. A second chance to raise your lighters high, ‘The Ballad Of Ricky Razor’ is one of the best power ballads you’ll hear this year. The boogie style hard rock of AC/DC has heavily influenced ‘Busty Sandy’. A swaggering guitar orientated romp, ‘Busty Sandy’ is a mid tempo foot stomp. With a heavy Southern Rock and blues influence, ‘Cry Out Til Midnite’ is one of those swaggering type songs that you’d expect to hear in an American saloon bar out in a town off the main highway… Now for one of the best songs off the album, the bombastic and catchy ‘Lick It If You Like It’, nodding its head back to the late eighties/early nineties heyday of sleaze rock when bands such as Cinderella, Ratt and Slaughter were ripping up the music scene.

This debut album from Vince Voltage is turning in a very good performance, with some great performances by the guest musicians on show. Some albums that feature a multitude of artists can sometimes have no direction or identity, but ‘Hard Rock Survivor’ does…it’s a swaggering and infectious hard rock ride. ‘Borderline’ takes on a much harder approach and is quite heavy compared to what has gone before, but still retains that high level of catchiness. Enter proceedings, the third ballad off the album, the keyboards led ‘Killing Times’. Like the previous two ballads, lighters out and held high, arms high and swaying, ‘Killing Times’ completes a trilogy of top notch ballads. The album is brought to a close as it began, with a hard hitting and hard rocking blast. ‘Broken’ wraps up this journey of rock with its buzzing guitar style riffs and thundering rhythm that will once again have your feet tapping and head nodding.

Overall, a diverse collection of hard hitting heavy rock and power ballads that is both catchy and infectious.

TRACKLIST

Hard Rock Survivor
Something To Believe In
Billy The Kid
Some Like It Ugly
The Ballad Of Ricky Razor
Busty Sandy
Cry Out Til Midnite
Lick It If You Like It
Borderline
Killing Times
Broken

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