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April 2024

• Vanden Plas: The Empyrean Equation Of The Long Lost Things
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March 2024

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[ More Music Reviews ]

Starbreaker: Dysphoria

Melodic Hard Rock/Metal

5.0/5.0

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Frontiers Music
Released: 25.01.2019
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 23.01.2019

Will wonders never cease? Where has Starbreaker been all these years? Inquiring minds want to know. Formed by veteran vocalist Tony Harnell (ex-TNT) and guitar guru Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear), we haven't heard from Starbreaker in nearly 10 years, when the band dropped Love's Dying Wish in 2008. So here we have the long awaited return of the band with their third album, Dysphoria. (From the field of psychiatry, dysphoria means a state of unease or generalized dissatisfaction with life.)

Starbreaker's Magnus Karlsson

Dysphoria finds Starbreaker back in the saddle offering their mixture of melodic hard rock and metal in an AOR wrapper, and featuring Harnell's strong voice and Karlsson's spry guitar work. Yet, with my first spin of the album, and the first song, I wasn't quite sure what direction Starbreaker was taking. The starter, Pure Evil is a blistering heavy song that reminds of pure power metal. Okay, I can dig that.

But then things immediately change, even dial back quite a bit. Wild Butterflies is less heavy more melodic hard rock. A few songs later you get the AORish rock of My Heart Belongs To You, the ballad Beautiful One, and the rising melodic metal anthem How Many More Goodbyes. But that last song can seem heavy in parts when it reaches multiple crescendos. Similar is Bright Star Blind Me which starts with a blend of synths and piano before drifting into a stronger hard rock anthem. Finally, Starbreaker leaps back into the metal with a heavy rockin' cover of Judas Priest's Starbreaker (from Sin After Sin). In the end, the return of Starbreaker was worth the wait. Dysphoria is a solid album packed with exceptional melodic hard rock and metal tunes. Easily recommended.

Kane Roberts: The New Normal

Melodic Hard Rock/AOR

4.0/5.0

For some nostalgia, open another browser tab and Google "kane roberts images," just for fun. And there you go. Do you remember Alice Cooper's Rambo guitarist ... [ Read More ]

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 return of Starbreaker was worth the wait. Dysphoria is a solid album packed with exceptional melodic hard rock and metal tunes. Easily recommended.

Alphabetical Index

Three years have passed since Sweden's Cruzh dropped their second long-player, Tropical Thunder, also introducing their new singer, Alex Waghorn. Now the band returns with The Jungle Revolution ... [ Read More ]