Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Jack Starr's Burning Starr
Label: High Roller Records
Release: 2017
Length: 78:45
Rating: 4/5
Jack Starr’s Burning Starr were formed in 1985 by guitarist Jack Starr, who was also one of the founding members of Virgin Steele, recorded two albums with them and then walked away. In the eighties Jack Starr’s Burning Starr put out four albums, namely “Rock The American Way” (1985), “No Turning Back!” (1986), “Blaze Of Glory” (1987) and “Jack Starr’s Burning Star” (1989), which many people also call the »orange« album.
After a long creative break the band came back together with a lineup of Jack Starr, Ned Meloni (bass, Joe Lynn Turner, Devil Childe, Phahtom Lord), Kenny “Rhino” Earl (drums, Manowar, Ross The Boss) and Todd Michael Hall (vocals, Riot V), and in 2009 released the warmly received comeback album “Defiance”. Two years later came “Land Of The Dead”, which confirmed the quality of its predecessor.
Six years have passed since that last record, and after hearing the new material it’s easy to conclude that »Stand Your Ground« is a more than convincing continuation of the musical vision behind »Land of The Dead«. The crew needed a good chunk of time to properly hone and chisel the song ideas and to pick the best of the best. The main songwriter is of course Jack Starr, and with him there’s simply no »hide and seek«. What you see is what you hear, and what you hear is what you get. »Stand Your Ground« once again sounds incredibly »European«, it’ll be 110% tailor-made for the Germans and most other Europeans too, since the musical vocabulary of Burning Starr has always been somehow tied to their American countrymen Manowar, who feel right at home in Europe. If not in style, then in energy and in the vibe, there’s definitely a kinship between the two bands. All this epicness and hymn-like grandeur, the at times downright bizarrely over-the-top epic bombast that once again runs through this extremely long album, fills a huge hole left by Manowar’s years-long creative bankruptcy and by the lost inspiration of Virgin Steele’s latest releases, and also by the general lack of interest among new generations of metal fans in this kind of »old-school« style of singing about the »savage hero«. Jack Starr is a man of the old school. He knows what a riff means. And he knows how to build a majestic one. He also understands just as well how to build atmosphere over the course of a song. He always lands the mood crescendo in the choruses, where the vocal melodies are the work of the phenomenal Todd Michael Hall, who confirms his brilliance on this album too, with polished vocals and flawless, perfect delivery. He offers finesse, craftsmanship, incredible vocal authority and a signature charisma. He’s truly in his own league of singers who strictly stick to melodic, clean singing, I’m talking about “normal singing” here, classic vocals, one of the best in the metal universe right now. He’s right at the top. It’s incredible how he carries his lines through the extreme high registers without losing a shred of expressive power. Without Todd this album would ignite half as much and not even in the wildest dreams would it be so infectiously convincing. Todd is the winning poker hand of aces for Jack Starr, because the music is full of tricks and phrases we’ve heard before, and Todd, with his vocal charisma, gives them an exceptional color contrast and life.
For everyone dreaming of a new Manowar album in the vein of Hail To England, which you’ll never get anyway, Jack Starr’s Burning Starr are the real thing and the first stop for comfort, a kind of medicine even. The production has an old-school sound with just a pinch of rawness, which keeps the wild energy and the living, breathing feel. Plenty of riffs and rhythms call up the kind of marching anthems Iron Maiden haven’t written in thirty years, and the record shows exceptional musicality, a reflection of the fact that Jack Starr belongs to the generation of old-school »US old school speed« metal on one side and the NWOBHM movement on the other. This album doesn’t waver in quality, holds a strong consistency and coherence from start to finish, though it could’ve been shorter. And the band pulls off the pomp without any cheesy keyboards. That also makes it clear why David DeFeis and Jack Starr are incompatible in their musical visions. A very nice album, then. With it, Jack Starr’s Burning Starr keep all of their fire and charm!
Jack Starr’s Burning Starr – Hero (official video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwbmQN5YHs8
Lineup
Todd Michael Hall – vocals
Jack Starr – guitar
Ned Meloni – bass
Kenny “Rhino” Earl – drums
Production
Bart Gabriel
Tracklist
1. Secrets We Hide
2. The Enemy
3. Stand Your Ground
4. Hero
5. Destiny
6. The Sky Is Falling
7. Worlds Apart
8. Escape From The Night
9. We Are One
10. Stronger Than Steel
11. False Gods
12. To The Ends
