‘I’m just not in a ‘touch your golden hair’ mood right now,’ says Jeff Scott Soto. Thus the veteran voice of AOR introduces Soto, a power-metal project that will probably appal as many of his hardened followers as it will appeal to.
While his mood may have something to do with the switch, in truth he maintains a portfolio career, his adaptability meaning he can sing with Yngwie or Journey, Brian May or parody act Skrapp Mettle as needs must. It has kept him afloat and working, which is meaningful enough in a fractured industry.
The Hetfield-isms during the intro to The Fall may be tongue in cheek, but there’s a pleasing heft to the guitars of his regular contributors Jorge Salan and BJ, and there’s plenty of ambition too: the doom-laden End Of Days clocks in at just under ten minutes, and there’s enough craftsmanship behind its construction to carry interest all the way through.
AOR fans, myself included, may find it a little like Steve Perry singing It’s A Motherfucker with the Eels last year: kinda fun but likely to induce a yearning for the mothership./o:p
