Skills, ‘Different Worlds’: Album Review

There’s apparently no shelf life on the melodic onerous rock expertise that Skills present on Completely different Worlds, the primary album by the label-formed “supergroup.” And if that model of rock is your bag, the 11-track set is prototypical sufficient to slip in alongside something by Whitesnake, Dio, Dokken, Scorpions and the remainder – even Judas Priest inside its 42 minutes. Hell, its cowl even seems to be like a graphic kissin’ cousin to Whitesnake’s self-titled, multiplatinum 1987 effort.

There are causes to be skeptical about the entire endeavor, after all. Expertise are one other one in every of Frontier Data’ “laboratory” tasks, fashioned by firm chief and hard-rock true believer Serafino Perugino as a car for Brazilian singer Renan Zonta (Electrical Mob, Brother In opposition to Brother). Perugino teamed Zonta with Night Ranger guitarist Brad Gillis, Billy Sheehan of Mr. Big, Winery Dogs, Sons of Apollo and David Lee Roth’s band, and Big drummer David Huff. The outcome on Completely different Worlds is slick, smooth and timeless, a visit within the way-back machine that however boasts an abundance of contemporary-sounding sonic oomph and sounds as legitimate now as it might on the Sundown Strip circa 1986.

And relaxation assured that Zonta is a star, a powerhouse tenor who, whereas maybe inseparable from his forebears within the hair-metal group, is however commanding and current. He handles the anthems and the facility ballads with equal veracity, bellowing with Valhalla-shaking energy – take a look at the spectacular lung capability of “Simply After I Wanted You” – that matches effectively with the metal-leaning dynamics of his bandmates.

You would be hard-pressed to name Completely different Worlds groundbreaking in any method, and there are moments when it looks like a batch of songs that might have labored as authentic compositions for the Rock of Ages musical. There are keepers amongst them, although, together with the polished and propulsive “Present Me the Manner,” the galloping “Escape Machine” and the arena-sized “Hearts of Stone.” Gillis opens “Cease the World” with some fascinating guitar interaction and nods to the late Eddie Van Halen within the title observe’s intro, and also you drop the needle nearly wherever on the album and discover a refrain worthy of your cellular phone flashlight.

Early on, Zonta guarantees that “the most effective is but to return,” if there may be certainly extra to return from Expertise. Both method, Completely different Worlds provides the singer a reputable calling card, and you may wager we’ll be listening to extra from him, if not the band, down the street.