Artist: Pride Of Lions
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2012
Length: 50:45
Rating: 4.5/5
Pride Of Lions, the band made up of Jim Peterik, former mastermind of AOR heavyweights Survivor, and the out-of-this-world vocalist Toby Hitchcock, is back after a hefty five-year break with its fourth full-length album.
»Immortal« is the album we were expecting. Content-wise, it draws on exactly the same formula as the band’s previous three records. What’s especially pleasing, though, is that Immortal is the band’s most mature work to date and one of the best AOR/melodic rock albums to come out in the genre this year. Five years is a great stretch for a whole heap of useful ideas to take shape, and Jim Peterik, a man with four decades of pro music-making behind him, puts them to use with so much wisdom and such studio and arranging seasoning that hardly anyone in melodic rock today can stand next to him. No wonder Survivor still haven’t cobbled together a single album without him, going on six years now. And a few more will probably go by before that legendary west coast AOR outfit shows any signs of life on that front.
Unlike his former buddies, Peterik’s head never stops flashing with ideas. The result is a great new album from the band, one you can’t fault on a single count. Peterik has once again gathered a bunch of proven musical colleagues around him, who handle their job superbly as hired studio guns. Among them is Night Ranger singer and drummer Kelly Keagy, who’s credited on drums for six tracks. Also part of this tried-and-tested crew is sound engineer Larry Millas, who again helped Peterik with the final touches on the sonic picture of »Immortal«.
Once again, the moments where the new album fully seals the deal on its high quality are the ballads. You could say that’s no longer a surprise when it comes to the power of Jim Peterik’s songwriting vocabulary. Over the years the man has created a pile of monstrous, pomp-soaked, drama-operetta numbers, both for Survivor and for the solo records of Survivor colleague and singer Jimi Jamison. Punchy ballads stuffed with melodic bombast, which in true AOR fashion hit their emotional peaks in the choruses, are where Toby Hitchcock’s exceptional vocal interpretation sparkles most intensely. Peterik’s arranging approach and Toby Hitchcock’s vocal style make for a dream creative-interpretive pairing, and there are very few like it in melodic rock today. The ballads Are You The Same Girl and Everything Money Can’t Buy are without doubt the songwriting highlights of »Immortal«.
This time Hitchcock’s vocals are deliberately contrasted by Peterik himself, with his thinner, low-to-mid-range voice, which is kind of funny when you’ve got a vocalist as top-notch as Hitchcock next to you. The whole point of the move was to contrast the moods and build up the dynamic development of these tracks (Shine On).
Of course, the representative side of the Survivor legacy from the eighties is captured too, embodied above all by the songs Sending My Love and the furious Vital Signs (a track that was actually written for Survivor but never used until »Immortal«). The album’s progression is, predictably, somewhat stereotypical. The punchy, bombastic Delusional lifts the atmosphere sky-high right after the opening title track, and a similar move is capitalized on at the close with the catchy, uptempo AOR rocker Ask Me Yesterday. Wedged between them is a bundle of highly dramatic, melodically polished tracks that don’t wobble in quality from one to the next, so this time you’ll have to dig out your favorites yourself.
As I said! One of the best AOR/melodic rock albums of the year. Truth be told, 2012 isn’t as strong a year for AOR releases as the last one, but »Immortal« would still be a top contender for the strongest and most polished AOR record even if it had come out last year. It serves up everything. Flawless, crystal-clear yet lively production that fills out the whole sonic spectrum, masterful buildup of moods and theatrical drama through the seductive melodic catchiness of the verse-chorus combo (Peterik’s trademark, after all), and above it all, the perfect vocal execution of Toby Hitchcock, who once again proves his growth into one of the best AOR/melodic rock vocalists of the younger generation! An album that’s a must for all fans of the west coast AOR sound, led by Survivor, Journey and the solo studio work of Jimi Jamison, Jim Peterik and Toby Hitchcock.
Lineup
Toby Hitchcock: -vocals
Jim Peterik – vocals, guitar, keyboards
Mike Aquino – guitar
Clem Hayes – bass
Bobby Lizik – bass
Kely Keagy – drums
Ed Breckenfield – drums
Thom Grifin – backing vocals
Marc Sherer – backing vocals
Production
Jim Peterik
Tracklist
1. Immortal
2. Delusional
3. Tie Down The Wind
4. Shine On
5. Everything That Money Can’t Buy
6. Coin Of The Realm
7. Sending My Love
8. Vital Signs
9. If It Doesn’t Kill Me
10. Are You The Same Girl
11. Ask Me Yesterday
