Former SHOTGUN MESSIAH vocalist ZINNY J. ZAN has been away from the rock scene for nearly a decade due to personal tragedy, illness and the perils of divorce. Back with a more mature but still powerful and playful bluesy voice, Zan delivers a well produced collection of fresh hard rockers blending the age of MTV hard rock and some funky riffs here and there, but only a few. Really, most of the material has a classy texture and less of an arena bombast, thus it isn’t nearly as obvious as one might expect. But it is not stodgy in the least, rather festive and invigorated a la Glenn Hughes when he is high on rock. For instance, “I Believe” would be welcome amidst the current internet phenomenen of melodic rock, though better than the median of the genre, making a more natural play at it.
While the songs are filled with twists and turns, they bump and grind without the calculation some of the more AOR obsessed band output. All the songs have a resolve as well, being friendly with the whole rock thing without simply going through the motions. Zan loves the music and it shows. There is a slew of rock radio ready tracks here, making this a pleasant surprise. Special note: the production, for an indie, is as plush as can be hoped for. Those looking for a vibrant take on late 80s hard rock will be wise to give this a serious listen.
Brian Coles
