Label: AOR Heaven Records
Release date: July 30, 2021
Production: Tom Martin, James Martin, Mickey Wilson
Album length: 47:35 min
Genre: AOR (revival) / Melodic Rock
Rating: 8.5/10
Nitrate, the British melodic rock and AOR revivalists from Nottingham, are back with their third studio album, “Renegade”. It follows “Realworld” (2018) and “Openwide” (2019), both of which were received really well. Considering the band was only founded in 2015, the run of releases so far is seriously impressive, and it also reflects the huge drive and dedication of founder, boss, bassist and main songwriter Nick Hogg.
Nitrate themselves cite the late-rock era of the eighties as their inspiration, when acts like Def Leppard, Europe, Journey, Skid Row, Roxette, Motley Crue and Bon Jovi ruled the scene. But when it comes to who they sound most like, they come closest to Journey (with the caveats that come with modern-day AOR revivalism, of course).
The third album keeps up the high quality of its two predecessors and lives up to the sky-high praise both of them got when they came out. Nitrate aren’t reinventing the wheel. In the world of AOR revivalism that’s simply impossible, but they’re great at recycling tried-and-tested moves and levers from the ever-igniting musical recipe laid down by the genre’s pioneers in the second half of the seventies and early eighties. As long as the band can keep writing songs like the excellent title track, they’ve got nothing to worry about when it comes to their career going forward.
On the new album, Nitrate show up with a slightly changed lineup. Alexander Strandell (Art Nation) takes over lead vocals this time, and for production Hogg teamed up with Tom Martin and James Martin of Vega, as well as Mikey Wilson, who’s also a member of Kimber. Tom Martin also handled rhythm guitar and James Martin the keyboards, which makes the new songs even more infectious in that musical AOR way than on the previous two albums. Vega’s third member, vocalist Nick Workman, also has a co-writing credit on one of the new Nitrate tracks.
Thanks to the collaboration with Tom and James Martin, the result is an AOR revival album that sounds very British. With Alexander Strandell’s vocal approach and tone, which at times strikingly echoes the late Shy (and TNT) singer Tony Mills, you can also pick up some parallels with the classic days of the cult British AOR heroes Shy, while the feel of the production is instantly comparable to Vega, and to bands like Serpentine too. In short, we’re staying on the British Isles, even though “Renegade” was recorded partly in Sweden and Italy.
AOR revival fans will definitely get their fill. Those of us who’ve heard too much music will call it a pretty solid, decent release that wholeheartedly follows the genre’s gains from the eighties. But there’s no doubt that with this carefully detailed record — and that goes for the excellent production and arrangements in general — the band hasn’t just managed to hold on to the quality of the last two releases, but has served up a new, higher level of its own artistic maturity and sonic aesthetic.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Danger Zone
2. Renegade
3. You Think You’ve Got It
4. Big City Lights
5. Why Can’t You Feel My Love
6. Children Of The Lost Brigade
7. Addicted
8. Alibi
9. Lay Down Your Arms
10. Edge Of Surrender
11. Take Me Back
Lineup:
Nick Hogg – bass guitar
Alexander Strandell – vocals
Tom Martin – rhythm guitar
James Martin – keyboards
Dario Nikzad – lead guitar
Mikey Wilson – drums, additional guitars, keyboards
guest musician:
Alessandro Del Vecchio – backing vocals
