Album Review — Burning Rain

Burning Rain — Face The Music

Burning Rain originally started as a partnership between guitarist Doug Aldrich and vocalist Keith St. John. St. John has sung in many bands including Montrose, Lynch Mob, Quiet Riot and with Neal Schon. Aldrich is seemingly omni-present as he’s played with the likes of Whitesnake and Dio and is currently in Dead Daisies and Revolution Saints.

The new incarnation of Burning Rain features former Slaughter drummer Blas Elias and Y&T bassist Brad Lang. The band’s fourth record, “Face The Music” has a very hard rock/70s feel to it and reminds me quite a bit of old school Aerosmith. St. John’s vocals are reminiscent of Aldrich’s Dead Daisies bandmate John Corabi.

There are some good songs here. Aldrich is the star of the record for me. His guitar playing sounds great. St. John can flow with the more 70s sounding stuff but also has a nice edge to his voice.

My favorite songs include “Lorelei”, “Midnight Train” and the title track, “Face The Music”. The band sounds tight as they roll through eleven mostly upbeat tracks.

If I have an issue with this record, it’s the songs themselves. There isn’t much original here other than Aldrich’s playing. Each song sounds like something I’ve heard before and although there are songs I like, I feel like the songs are missing something.

That being said, if you like that 70s hard rock sound and excellent guitar playing, there is definitely enough here for you. It’s a good record, but for me, it probably won’t get a lot more listens.

80 out of 100

Track Listing

1 REVOLUTION
2 LORELEI *
3 NASTY HUSTLE
4 MIDNIGHT TRAIN *
5 SHELTER
6 FACE THE MUSIC *
7 BEAUTIFUL ROAD
8 HIT AND RUN
9 IF IT’S LOVE
10 HIDEAWAY
11 SINCE I’M LOVING YOU

*Best Songs