Silent Witness - Thrills

Thought 80s stomping raunch romp music had been replaced by alterna or country tinged creations made by the artists that made the old cock rock popular in the first place? Well guess again, for a handful of new bands are riding the coattails on this resurgance of interest in the 80s party classics. So while most of the 80s posturin heroes have faded into obscurity by trying to cash in on the 'new' music while alienating and leaving behind their fanbase, its leaving that spot of music hungry metallers looking for something to quench their metallic thirsts. So in steps Silent Witness.

While the album cover looks like a painting representing sci-fi fare with a Star Wars vibe in the X Wing'ish looking fighter ships, the music contained within the disc is a world away of its out of this world frontcover art. Silent Witness mushes together pieces of all the 80s classic glammish bands. The raw rough and tumble sound of Motley Crue, slick pomp of Y&T, melodically rough Slaughter, and a heavy dose of Lynch Mob. In fact, Anthony Lee Fontayne, sounds alot like a mixture of both L'Mob singers, Oni Logan and Robert Mason, whom he replaced in S'Witness. Fontayne's got that swaggering swing to his voice that was so infectious in both Mob singers. However, he sounds a bit messy at times on the softer ballad-type tunes. Other musical performances are above the norm, often spiced by the sounds of synth, samples and strings. What really counts here is the song arrangements, which are typical fare with a few treats thrown in here and there, not too unlike the glammy releases from a decade ago.

Opening track, "All She Had On Was the Radio" is a barnburning 80s anthem to its core, which remind me of "I'm Your Radio" by MSG. Same kind of mindset lyrically. "Thunder and Lightning" comes off as being a cross between Giant and the Mob, but is the dynamite track on the album. Piercing and shredding axework, huge chorus, and so much going on in the background its often hard to keep up with. Samples of rain and thunderclaps suit its theme nicely. "Somebody Beat Me To the Punch" and the closing track "Playing With the Boys" is pure party all the way, coated with a slick melodic exterior. "Thrills" pretty much rocks from start to finish, with two ballads to add some variety. Sentimental stripped vocal/acoustic sound kicks off "One Winged Angel" before it takes the predictable route of having the on/off exchange between full force boom and acoustic lappings. "Without You" takes the pure power ballad route, putting a bit of strain on the vocals for Fontayne, and overall sounding rather Warrant-ish, especially towards the end. Both come off as being decent excursions into the realm of the ballads.

The only real 'clunker' of the album is the average pound of "Blood is Thicker Than Water". Decent guitar solo and unusual drumming in parts, but a boring pre-chorus, bridge, and chorus just crash the song into oblivion. "Shipwrecked" has a bouncy uptempo feel, and "Run Thru the Night" features some qualities that save it from being bottom of the barrel, but "Blood..." sticks out on the cd like a sore thumb. The only track I haven't given mention to thus far is "1,000 Times Forever", the melodic half-ballad, which represents itself as a decent little tune, but with very sloppy backing vocals, someone should shoot those guys and let Fontayne sing. Enjoyable at the least.

Drawbacks to the album include the loss of Robert Mason, who sounded like a dream on the first Silent Witness release. The new singer is good, but nowhere near the vocal brilliance of Mason, and while both albums are melodic hard rock, "Thrills" takes the rawer, well-beaten path of party-esque material, while the first was something of a cross between John Norum's "Total Control" and TNT. In addition to the comparisions between the two albums, there's the matter of the ridiculously sloppy backing vocals, that are as lifeless as a dead rat and painful to endure on what would have been an awesome track "1,000 Times Forever". Imagine that with the gang vocals from the first S'Witness cd. However, its obvious that the production has been stepped up a notch on this newer release, and there are several songs that are highly enjoyable to spin now and then.

While "Thrills" might not be mindblowing, groundbreaking material, it is a well rounded album, offering up enough solid material performed in a lighthearted fashion. If you are yearning for the 80s, Silent Witness manage to make it thrilling enough to make the time spent listening worthwhile.

Rating - 7.3
by Alanna Evans
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