Sweet & Lynch, the musical union of vocalist/guitarist Michael Sweet (Stryper, Iconic) and guitarist George Lynch (Lynch Mob, The End Machine, ex-Dokken), are back with their third album. Their debut, in 2015, was a success in many markets, leading to them returning in 2017 but due to the success of their respective bands it has taken until now for them to get back together for their third. Alessandro Del Vecchio, who co-produced this release with Michael Sweet, plays bass on the album, while Jelly Cardarelli (Lalu) plays drums. I probably came across Stryper just before Dokken, but by the mid Eighties I was a huge fan of both bands and always felt Dokken never reached the heights they deserved, due probably to the fractious relationship between Lynch and Don Dokken, but I have followed his career with interest ever since. To my mind some of his projects have been successful, others not so much, but there is no doubt that in Michael Sweet he has found a collaborator with whom he can produce some of his best work.

Stryper are a band I have admired since I first came across them a million years ago and seeing them play live in New Zealand earlier this year was undoubtedly one of my concertgoing highlights as they were just as good as I knew they would be. Sweet is an amazing singer who has lost none of his power, and there are few who take on the lead vocal role in Boston, which he did for three years. In Sweet & Lynch we have a band who play to their strengths, with the songs being rockier than one might expect from Sweet, and somewhat more commercial than one might expect from Lynch, meeting in the middle in a crossover of melodic and hard rock which is extremely palatable. The result is an album which is enjoyable from the beginning while nothing really dramatically stands out and given the original rhythm section is no longer involved one wonders if this is now a full-on studio project as opposed to a real band.

If this was turned into a full-on band then I am sure the working and playing together would lead to somewhat stronger material, but even as it is this is a very enjoyable album. I am not sure if we have reached the end of the road with Sweet & Lynch given they are so busy on their own bands, but one can only hope there is more to come.

Rating: 7/10

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/SweetLynch/
https://www.frontiers.it/