Blood Red Saints formed in 2014 in the UK with a couple members from In Faith, singer Pete Godfrey, and drummer Pete Newdeck. Together with former Angels or Kings bassist Rob Naylor and guitarist Lee Revill, they released their debut album that same year. For Love Hate Conspiracies, their second LP, Newdeck was replaced by Adam Chemney, and Neil Hibbs was brought in to add another, more crunchy sounding guitar. The music is still in the melodic rock style, but with some twists.
The opening track “Another Freak”, my favorite on the album, is a hard rocking song with those crunchy guitars, harmonies and a catchy chorus. The second tune “Live & Die” starts with a hard riff, but adds synths and softer lyrics to move back into the AOR realm. Revill adds a nice solo. It could be something from Bon Jovi back in the 80s. Godfrey‘s voice actually reminds me a bit of Jon Bon Jovi or even Joey Tempest. The songs aren’t as good as either of those bands, but their influences are evident.
The middle of the album consists of a standard melodic rocker in “Wake Up” and a couple of mid-tempo ballads (“Exit Wounds” and “Arms Wide Open.”) Interesting tracks include “Something In Your Kiss,” with a catchy chorus and solid riff, and “Is It Over,” which is the hardest rocker other than the lead track, even if the riff is synth heavy. Paul Laine of The Defiants contributed writing and vocals for that one. The title track, “Sometimes” and “Rise Again” didn’t really do much for me, and the album closes with “Turn On the Night,” clearly written with a more commercial sound by Steve Brown, who’s also written for Def Leppard and Tokyo Motor Fist.
While their first album was released on Frontiers, they have since moved to AOR Heaven. The band is slated to play with Skid Row and Night Ranger at the HRH AOR festival in North Wales, where last year Tracii Guns and Phil Taylor reunited in LA Guns. This is one of those newer bands – so get out there and buy the album, see them on tour and show your support!
–Dave G
Blood Red Saints: FACEBOOK
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