Johnny Gioeli first came to prominence as the singer with Hardline, later returning to the scene to sing with Axel Rudi Pell (where he has been now for the last 20+ years), and he also combines those roles with fronting Crush 40 and providing vocals for video games, so perhaps it isn’t too surprising that this is his first solo album. The keyboard player on the album is Alessandro Del Vecchio, who also produces the album, and he has worked with Johnny for quite a while so it is no surprise he has been able to capture the best out of him. That Johnny is a powerful singer has never been in doubt, that he knows what he is doing in front of a band is never in doubt, but for me this album just doesn’t contain the spark and passion I would expect from someone who first started off as a drummer at the tender age of 16, back in 1983.

The songs just feel too generic, standard melodic hard rock with nothing to really distinguish it from anything else in the market. Johnny’s vocals can’t hide the fact that there are too few songs here with killer hooks, and although I enjoyed playing it, no matter how many times I worked through it there was nothing I could remember about it when it had finished. I played this album a great deal, but still didn’t find myself singing snippets of songs, which is what often happens with this style of music. He is a great singer, I love his voice, but hear at him best I’ll be looking elsewhere.

Rating: 6/10

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