Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Mills, Tony
Label: Battlegod Productions
Release: 2015
Duration: 52:30
Rating: 4/5
Tony Mills is a musician with a long-running career that stretches back to 1977. It was especially defined by his time with the famous British AOR rockers Shy, and later he also lent his vocals for a few years to the moody Norwegian hard rockers TNT. Mills is also known for working on another Norwegian project called Siam, and his voice graces a whole galaxy of albums by all sorts of artists, whether as lead vocalist or in a backing role. Mills is also considered a very talented composer and arranger, and a very good producer to boot.
»Over My Dead Body« is Tony Mills’ fourth solo studio album overall. It took longer to come together than expected, and longer than the singer himself originally planned. After Mills left TNT three years ago, he tried to bring Siam back to life together with his buddy Henning Ramseth. Sadly the whole thing fizzled out, and the ideas that had been created for Siam ended up on Tony’s solo album. »Over My Dead Body« is the singer’s deeply personal, confessional record, taking us through Tony’s life story of spiritual death and rebirth. Hence the Tarot hanged man on the album cover, symbolizing a person’s readiness for death and rebirth.
Compared to the singer’s most recent musical outings, »Over My Dead Body« is a different story. The first thing that surprises is its extremely dark character. The second is the vocal approach, which is quite different from what we’re used to hearing from Tony in Shy or, say, in the AOR revivalists Serpentine. The way the songs were written certainly plays a part in that. They came together through Mills’ collaboration with a whole bunch of musicians, such as Ralph Cardall, Steve Higgs, Douglas Docker, Simen Johanhessen, Oyvind Waernes, Tony Marshall and Vince O’Regan, known for his work with Bob Catley. Musicians and arrangers who played a key role in shaping the material include Neil Kernon (the album’s producer and Tony’s production partner going back to the Shy days), Robert Saal (Work of Art), Douglas R. Docker , Paul Sabu and the already mentioned Hennig Ramseth. Everyone added their own little piece to the mosaic, and the result is a record that’s wildly varied in both arrangement and mood. Colorful. Full of “temperature” swings.
What we get on this album is a real blending of genres. From the a cappella piece Bitter Suite, which owes its inspiration to Queen in the way it combines vocal melodies, to fast, metallized onslaughts like the distinctly gloomy 28. Flight, or later on the album the awakening, anthemic Northern Star. The songs have an interesting hybrid quality, metal fused with AOR, as the opening Time Won’t Wait already shows, and at its more sophisticated moments (especially the mid-eight passages) the album also leans toward art rock and even progressive rock. At times, mostly thanks to Tony’s vocal contribution, it even goes full Queensrÿche, which is also a factor of the collaboration with Neil Kernon. Then there are the moments that keep up the familiar continuity and Tony Mills’ allegiance to the AOR genre, like the track 4 in the Morning and especially the one right after it, Somewhere in London, where the composer’s stamp comes from Robert Saal, a member of Work of Art and W.E.T. That track could easily fit on any of the Work of Art albums or on later Shy albums such as »Sunset And Wine« (2005) and »Unfinished Bussiness« (2003) . The track My Death is actually a cover of Le Mort by the Belgian composer Jacques Brel.
Mills rules with his voice. The album is completely subordinate to his vocal dominance. The singer is fully focused throughout on conveying genuine passion and emotion, and this distinctive stamp of his is the album’s main trump card and the source of its great appeal and allure. Given the story the album is tied to, the songwriting also makes a kind of transition from dark to light. It starts out distinctly gloomy, and through that gloom it gradually moves toward awakening, anthemic melodies that announce rebirth. »Over My Dead Body« is a manifesto on which Mills has completely cleansed his soul and heart, leaving behind a period of despondency, frustration and disappointment that crushed him to the point where the singer was no longer sure he was even capable of finding inspiration and drive for making music. »Over My Dead Body« is therefore an act of complete personal as well as artistic triumph, with which Tony Mills has convincingly weathered every storm. If you know this singer’s body of work, you’ll surely be thrilled with »Over My Dead Body«, an album that shows us Tony Mills in a slightly different but once again utterly fascinating light, full of creative perfection and the vocal brilliance he’s so well known for.
Line-up
Tony Mills – vocals, backing vocals
Paul Sabu – guitar
Robert Saal – guitar, keyboards
Henning Ramseth – guitar, bass, keyboards
Douglas Docker – keyboards, backing vocals
Eric Ragno – keyboards
Andreas Passmark – bass
Victor Borge – bass
Neil Kernon – “fretless” bass
Andreas Nergard – drums
Production
Tony Mills
Track list
1. Time Won’t Wait
2. 28 Flights
3. We Should Be On By Now
4. No Love Lost
5. Gate 21
6. My Death
7. Bitter Suite
8. Northern Star
9. 4 In The Morning
10. Somewhere in London
11. Free Spirits
