Recent Reviews

June 2024

  • Issa: Another World

May 2024

April 2024

March 2024

February 2024

[ More Music Reviews ]


Vitalines: Wheels Within Wheels
Vitalines - Wheels Within Wheels Album Art

Vitalines: Wheels Within Wheels

Melodic Hard Rock/AOR
4.5/5.0

Label
Frontiers Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 23.10.2023 | Released: 20.10.2023

Vitalines is a new project from two talented and respected artists in the AOR genre: vocalist Robbie LaBlanc (Blanc Faces, Fine Me, T3nors, et al) and songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Tommy Denander who, besides his own project Radioactive, has worked with luminaries including Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Jeff Beck, Vince Bill, Mutt Lange, Bob Ezrin. That's a short list. This is hardly the first time the both have worked together. Recently, Denander worked with LaBlanc on his 2021 solo effort, Double Trouble. The next year, LaBlanc contributed vocals to Radioactive's XXX. Wheels Within Wheels is their debut album for Frontiers Music.

Vitalines - Click For Larger Image

>Vitalines: LaBlanc and Denander

As a songwriter, Denander is versatile, traversing various genres. Largely, however, he strays little from AOR melodic hard rock, and that's what you have with Vitalines. Which, in turn, suits LaBlanc's vocal style too. All the same, I'm a huge fan of Denander as a guitarist. His guitar solos abound across this album and, of course, are terrific. As a side hustle, Denander also contributes bass and keyboards to the project.


Turning to the songs within Wheels Within Wheels, they're all satisfying romps into AOR melodic hard rock. Fast harder rockers come with Love And Thunder, Judgment Day Is Here, Cards From Another Game, and Wheels Within Wheels. Perhaps also Love Not Fantasy, but the pacing is more moderate.

Most everything else turns on a generous AOR vibe. These include, among others, Nothing But Silence, You Never Know With Magic, or You Are The Reason I Am. Closer to anthemic ballads are Life Waits For No One and the bit more spry When Spirits Fight, but they're both upbeat all the same. Perhaps the interesting odd song out among the bunch is Hello World - We Need To Talk which has pop bounce and groove in its rhythm.

All things considered, for AOR melodic hard rock featuring fine melodic vocals and terrific guitar work, Vitalines' Wheels Within Wheels, featuring Robbie LaBlanc and Tommy Denander, is exceptional entertainment. Easily recommended.




CraigHartranft.net - New fiction, crime fiction by Craig Hartranft

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.


The Take Away

For AOR melodic hard rock featuring fine melodic vocals and terrific guitar work, Vitalines' Wheels Within Wheels, featuring Robbie LaBlanc and Tommy Denander, is exceptional entertainment. Easily recommended.

Find A Review

Alphabetical Index

a b c d e f g h i j
k l m n o p q r s t
u v w x y z #
New & Notable
Read the Marty Friedman: Drama Album Review

Marty Friedman needs little introduction. His rise to guitar stardom began in Cacophony, a band he formed with Jason Becker. Then, as we all know, his career excelled when he joined Dave Mustaine's Megadeth ... [ Read More ]

May 2024 Stats
  • Views: 15,361
  • Users: 4,086
  • Views Per Users: 3.7.0
  • Event Count: 45,351
  • Sessions: 9,273
  • Engaged Sessions: 5,332
  • Engagement Rate: 57.5%

    • Source: Google Analytics