Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Vega
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2016
Runtime: 45:01
Rating: 4/5
Vega, a melodic/AOR rock band from the United Kingdom, keep soaring on the wings of creative momentum. In the six years since their debut studio album came out in 2010, they’ve already arrived at album number four, and once again there’s no sign of the band running out of ideas or suffering from a shortage of songwriting inspiration.
»Who We Are« is yet another excellent studio effort, a more than worthy successor to the admittedly hard-to-top »Stereo Messiah« (2014), and with the new record Vega remain among the main »torchbearers« of the AOR revival, built on the classic British school.
The core of the lineup is incredibly strong. It’s made up of seasoned, experienced musicians, led by the two driving engines, brothers Tom and James Martin. They’re songwriters who have previously contributed, especially as music writers, to albums by the likes of Khymera, Danny Vaughn (Tyketto), Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow, Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force, Deep Purple), House of Lords, Ted Poley (Danger Danger) and Tommy Funderburk, among others. They have an incredible, almost intuitive knack for crafting the perfect melodic hook, the kind that lodges itself in your ear on the very first spin, and in rock’n’roll today that’s a fiercely rare and, as a result, highly sought-after virtue.
The new album delivers a fresh dozen of finely crafted songs, with peaks of atmospheric bombast in the melodic choruses. The quality never wavers from track to track; instead they hold an outstanding artistic level of songwriting perfectionism. Once again the production was handled by the seasoned Harry Hess (Harem Scarem), so the album doesn’t stray an inch from the band’s established musical direction. Vocalist Nick Workman shines again with his phenomenal contribution: clean, commanding and highly melodic singing. The band keeps that recognizable note of melancholy woven into the lineage of melodic rock from the British Isles, but they also know a thing or two about a healthy sense of humor, so there are moments dosed with that classic English black humor too, something the cover of the new album already hints at.
So Vega deliver yet another gorgeous album, one that proudly takes its place in the band’s discography, and it’s more than obvious that, with their glowing revivalism as showcased on the new record, they’ll keep winning over the hearts of all the AOR devotees out there. Both those with refined tastes who demand only the best, and the freshly baked fans just discovering the genre. The band, which recently beefed up with a new member, guitarist Marcus Thurston, and grew into a quintet, is highly respected in music circles anyway, so it’s no surprise they recently wrapped up a joint tour with the legendary British art rockers Magnum. And »Who We Are« is yet another superb document that deserves the full attention of AOR fans, as well as a proper showcase on stages around the world.
Vega – White Flag (official video):
Lineup
Nick Workman – vocals
Tom Martin – guitar
James Martin – keyboards
Dan Chantrey – drums
Marcus Thurston – guitar
Production
Harry Hess
Tracklist
1. Explode
2. We Got It All
3. Every Little Monster
4. Nothing Is Forever
5. White Flag
6. For Our Sins
7. Generation Now
8. Ignite
9. Saving Grace
10. If Not You
11. Hurts So Bad
