SteelRush is a Melodic Rock/AOR band from India, the first of its kind from the country. The band started in 2011 when guitarist Aham Saxena met singer Apoorv Chouhan. Fueled by a love of Eighties rock, the two began recording original material at their home studio. After an array of line-up changes, SteelRush decided that it was best to continue writing their music as a two-piece band while performing with session players when they went live.
Through The Night is their debut EP and contains four songs that breathe new life into Eighties classic rock. The sound is traditional AOR but contains an identity unique to this band. I really loved the simple but clean production, with the fantastic keyboard and drum sound. Saxena plays guitar in the mode of Neil Schon and Chouhan sings like a cross between Steve Perry and Phil Collins – I jest not!
This EP is really uplifting and, with a more polished production and more time under their belts, these guys will be a superb rock band that can make some serious headway.
Opening up with “Mysterious Eyes“, you can really see a unique band starting on a journey through the rock n’ roll roadmap. I was blown away by the singing and guitar playing and really dug the Phil Collins nods from Chouhan. The song is a classy homage to the Eighties rock heroes. It also has a whiff of prog bands of the time, which is great for me!
The EP continues with the rocker “Round N Round“, which has a great bridge and cool harmonies. The swelling keyboards bring to mind the band House Of Lords and the whole song is class again.
“Take Me Away” evokes some pop rock of the Eighties (think Simple Minds), but has a tight guitar solo to add to the arsenal of awesomeness.
The final song is “Through The Night” which bubbles along on waves of bass (possibly synth bass – so cool retro). Chouhan gives an emotional vocal on this, but does stretch some of the notes a tad – perfection is over-rated, right?
Anyway, great job guys! I will look forward to seeing where SteelRush go from here.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeKYj0X9W3Q[/embedyt]
