If glam metal is characterized by shredding guitar solos, extensive use of harmonies, and use of the power ballad, then LaValle has hit the mark with Dear Sanity. Actually a bullseye in this reviewer’s opinion.First of all, who is LaValle? Well, LaValle is a band formed out of a song writing partnership between guitar player Eddie LaValle and bass player Paul Logue (Eden’s Curse). Now add Paul‘s friend singer Carsten Lizard Schultz and his best friend, German drumming legend, Ramy Ali and you have the base band. Keyboardist Alessandro DeVecchio was added to round out their sound after the original tracks were laid down.
LaValle is a band that has a mission statement and that is to be “a melodic hard rock band made up of like-minded musicians from the U.S.A. as well as Europe. We strive to write memorable, rocking, hook-filled songs that pay tribute to the rock bands of the 80s that we all love so much, while at the same time embracing today’s modern production techniques.”
I say mission accomplished!
Now for the music. The album starts off with “Fading Like the Sun”, which is the kind of song you can’t get out of your head once you hear it. I find myself singing the chorus throughout the day after hearing it, plus the guitar in this song is tremendous. The next two songs, “Scared to Love” and “Don’t Cry” bring a great 80’s vibe to them. Next is “One Day at a Time” which starts off beautifully with piano but then turns into a great piece of power pop. “Cry of the Wolf” is probably the heaviest song on the album with more great guitar. “The Lucky Ones” is the catchiest song on the album branching out into AOR territory. “Smoke and Mirrors” is a solid rocker but then comes “Break Your Heart” which does the 80’s power ballad justice. “Rock Your World” is another solid track and then comes “Wait to Long”. This is my favorite track on the album because of the fantastic, soulful guitar playing and the slow, sultry groove the song has.
Overall this album gets a strong recommend from me. I can hardly wait to hear what these guys can do next after spending some time playing together.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVdKQaojMfs[/embedyt]
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