Album Review — Tom Keifer Band

Tom Keifer Band — Rise

Six years after releasing his first solo album, former Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer is back with his second solo album, “Rise”, with this one under the moniker of Tom Keifer Band.

I really enjoyed “The Way Life Goes”. It had a bit more of an acoustic feel to it and Keifer’s vocals were a little more clean than I remember them in Cinderella.

“Rise” is a different story. It’s very bluesy and borders on being a little dark and muddy. At times the vocals don’t stand out as much as they could and Keifer’s vocals are a lot more rough at times on this record, although not in a bad way.

“Touching The Devine” kicks off the record and after a short intro, we get that bluesy slide guitar that sounds familiar to Cinderella fans. Keifer is in full throat for the majority of the track.

The first single, “The Death Of Me”, sounds like a slightly more updated Cinderella track. It continues the heavier, bluesy sound of the record.

“Waiting on the Demons” is a mostly acoustic track which sounds closer to what we heard off of “The Way Life Goes”.

Album highlights for me include “All Amped Up”, which is probably the closest track on the record to a Cinderella song. It’s straight ahead rock and roll which I imagine will sound great live.

“Taste for the Pain” has a different feel than the rest of the record. Keifer spends most of the track in a lower register and sounds much more clean. I really like this one.

“Life Was Here” is another straight ahead rocker with Keifer’s classic vocals. If anything, I would have liked to see some of these later tracks in the record bumped up earlier in the order.

The album ends with the acoustic “You Believe In Me” which is another strong track. Keifer shows he’s more than just his gritty vocals as he sings this one straight and sounds great.

Overall, I like this record, especially the second half of it. I like the straight ahead rockers and the slower stuff quite a bit. The heavier stuff is good but those songs sound a little muddy to me. Maybe it’s the production or the bluesier sound on those tracks, I’m not sure.

This is a very different record than acoustic driven “The Way Life Goes”. “Rise” is much closer to a Cinderella record but slightly bluesier and a bit darker. If you are a Cinderella or Tom Keifer fan, you’ll definitely want to check it out.

85 out of 100

Track Listing

1. Touching the Divine
2. The Death of Me *
3. Waiting on the Demons
4. Hype
5. Untitled
6. Rise
7. All Amped Up *
8. Breaking Down
9. Taste for the Pain *
10. Life Was Here *
11. You Believe in Me *

*Best Songs