Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Hardline
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2009
Runtime: 52:01
Rating: 3/5
Seven years of waiting for an album that started taking shape back in 2004 and was ready for release at the end of 2006. Seven long years since 2002, when »II« came out. The wait is finally over, and Hardline have at last pushed out their third studio album.
Of the original lineup, the only one left in Hardline today is vocalist Johnny Gioeli, whom many of you have known much better for years as the regular singer of German hard rocker and guitar wizard Axl Rudi Pell. Of the lineup that recorded »II«, only Johnny Gioeli, The Street guitarist Josh Ramos and legendary Angel keyboardist Michael T. Ross stuck around for the new album. Behind the kit is Atma Anur, a Berklee-trained drummer who’s known not only for playing in Cacophony, the metal outfit of guitarists Jason Becker and Marty Friedman, but also for touring with a long list of big names: David Bowie, Journey, Third Eyer Blind, Richie Kotzen, Greg Allman, Tony McAlpine and Greg Howe. Journey guitarist Neal Schon, the man who laid down the guitars on Hadline’s 1992 debut, once said that Atma Anur is »Jimi Hendrix on drums« The bass was originally supposed to be played by Rudy Sarzo, but with his commitments to Yngwie J. Malmsteeen and Ronnie James Dio he couldn’t find time for studio duties with Hardline, so the lesser-known Jamie Brown jumped in.
The album went through a long birthing process. The first and most important thing is that Johnny Gioeli and company prove they haven’t lost their touch for crafting proper melodic rock songs with real character and great arrangements. Still, the energy they captured is, all in all, pretty gloomy on this album. Partly because of the production, which gives the guitars a slightly smeared sound. If we want to nitpick, we can’t ignore the sloppily produced drums, which sit way too thin in the mix, one-dimensional, flimsy and therefore not defined enough. So what does that mean? As songwriting, the tracks hold water; as production, not quite. That means the album still leaves some room on the table, and the songs don’t develop that proper dynamic and atmospheric hookiness that an average quality melodic rock / AOR release has to deliver.
Some of the contrasting detours on the album, like Hole In My Head, may have been influenced by Gioeli digging through the archive demos of his pre-Hardline-era band Brunette, since this one is a reworking of exactly one of those Brunette demos, which Hardline included on the new album. The solo on the track Before This comes from special guest Jun Senoue, the Asian-born guitarist of Crush 40. The gang of musicians delivers excellent playing, Gioeli is powerful and explosive on vocals, and above all it’s his voice that tells every pair of ears instantly that Hardline are with us. Gioeli is lucky enough to have a voice with its own distinctive color and contour of interpretation that you recognize in a heartbeat.
Even though the weak production keeps the album from developing the full vibe of melodic rock hunger, »Leaving the End Open« holds together with a much greater degree of consistency and a clearer common thread than the 2002 album »II«, which was plagued by too much experimentation. But there’s no way »Leaving The End Open« can be compared to the debut, which is a chapter of its own and a work of AOR brilliance that has stood the test of time. The Gioeli–Ramos partnership has proven a happy one on the new album too. The melodic reach of the songs and the arrangements, built from guitar phrases paired with Gioeli’s authoritative, trademark vocals and his melodic approach, work, and that’s what matters. That’s why Gioeli kept Ramos at his side after »II« for »Leaving The End Open« as well. Let’s hope the band manages to fix that lackluster impression from the unfortunate production down the road, because they’re far from short on talent for writing proper melodic rock anthems! Let me add this too: the working title of the album was »Just Add Water«. There was even talk that Hardline would actually name the new album that. After all, the whole thing is missing just a splash of water to really work. Still, as mentioned, all things considered, when it comes to consistency, »Leaving The End Open« is a step forward for Hardline compared to its predecessor »II«. As long as it’s a step forward, right?
Line-up
Johnny Gioeli – vocals
Josh Ramo – guitar
Michael T Ross – keyboards
Jamie Browne – bass
Atma Anur – drums
Production
Bob Burch
Track list
- Voices (4:30)
- Falling Free – 4:41
- Start Again (5:28)
- Pieces of Puzzles (3:55
- Bittersweet (5:22)
- She Sleeps in Madness (4:56)
- In This Moment (3:20)
- Give in to This Love (4:07)
- Before This (3:52)
- Hole in My Head (5:35)
- Leaving the End Open (5:45)
