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CoreLeoni: II
CoreLeoni - II Music Review

CoreLeoni: II

Melodic Metal Rock
4.0/5.0

If you recall, CoreLeoni is the side project of Gotthard founding member and guitarist Leo Leoni. In 2018, the band dropped The Greatest Hits Part 1 where Leoni revisited and refreshed his favorite songs from the first three Gotthard albums. Now Leoni is back in the CoreLeoni saddle with another edition of greatest hits. Aptly titled II, the album features more Gotthard covers, but also two new songs (Queen Of Hearts and Don't Get Me Wrong) and a rendition of John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom. (Neither that song nor two of the Gotthard covers were included in my press kit.)

CoreLeoni - Click For Larger Image

CoreLeoni

Otherwise, all the refreshed Gotthard songs sound vibrant and exciting, generally blurring the lines of melodic hard rock and metal. After the Shostakovich intro Waltz, CoreLeoni finds their metal rocking groove with Standing In The Light, Love For Money, and Open Fire. You might find that Love For Money has something of a Whitesnake vibe. Leoni taps into his blues muse with I'm Your Travelin' Man. More heavy metal rock comes later with Mountain Mama and Make My Day. A rising rock anthem comes with the ballad Angel, another Gotthard cover. As for the new tunes, Queen Of Hearts and Don't Get Me Wrong, they're straight up riff roaring melodic hard rockers where Leoni has another chance to rip up his fret board. Revisiting the first CoreLeoni album, Leoni ends with Il Padrino aka Nino Rota's Love Theme From the Godfather. All in all, CoreLeoni's II is another sharp and satisfying album of melodic hard rock from Gotthard guitarist Leo Leoni. Recommended.


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The Bottom Line

CoreLeoni's II is another sharp and satisfying album of melodic hard rock from Gotthard guitarist Leo Leoni. Recommended.

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