Another album brought to you by the folks at Frontiers’ back from the dead records. Other than their classic self-titled release from 1990 and an out of the blue release on MTM records in ’98, this new release is their only recorded works to date. Of course, putting out a melodic rock record at the beginning 90’s was like throwing your wallet into a bottomless pit, as it would never be seen again.
So, what does this latest comeback album offer in terms of classic tunes? Well, opening track Had Enough is smokin’. The bass line is killer, and the riff and groove are right on the money – a nice uptempo rocker to wet the appetite. If rock radio was still interested in melody and memorable tunes then What Could’ve Been would be lighting up the charts. It’s an AOR classic with a huge melody and chorus.
Raise Em Up is another uptempo groover with a nice riff reminiscent of Schenker in his UFO days. 9 Lives (My Immortal Life) is the heaviest track on the record and romps along at a fair pace. My favourite tune however is the close out piece, I’m Not The One. A brooding monster of a track with a different vibe to it than the rest of the album, but still with a huge hook and melody.
Well, I’m glad they returned with a strong record. My only peeve is that the pressing I have is a bit on the quiet side.
8.5/10 from The Grooveman.
