JAKKS – Fire (2011)

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It has been said many times on this site; Melodic Hard Rock has no boundaries.
JAKKS from Argentina is one of the few bands from South America carrying the flag of the genre, releasing their first international album “Fire”.

Formed in 2006 and after some line-up changes, the band published independently their debut ‘Fuego En Tu Piel’ in 2008 -with Spanish lyrics- obtaining good success locally and in Brazil.
Jakks has opened shows for Vince Neil and Tracii Guns’ L.A. Guns, filmed commercials for major brands such as 7UP or Citröen and toured the area as main act.
In 2011 the band signed a deal with UK’s based label Z Records to release “Fire” (their debut with re-recorded vocals sung in English) in Europe, USA and Japan.

“Fire” takes elements of 80’s classic bands like Bon Jovi, Dokken, Bonfire, Bad English and alike.
There’s some good upbeat hard rockers here, such as “Making Me Burn”, “Don’t Hold You Back” and the opening track “Just An Obsession” (where singer Alec Michaels does his best Rhett Forrester impression).
Also interesting melodic rock tunes like “Nothing Else Tonight”, “Everything” and “Endless Night” featuring a catchy riffs. We can hear as well some AOR elements, most notably in the bouncy, keyboard laden “For Your Love”.
The ballads are present too; “Dreams” is a nice one and the love song “Come Back To Me” has a sweet melodious line in the Bad English style.

“Fire” is a cool Melodic Hard Rock album from a strange land for this kind of genre, with the type of sound that has propelled several bands to stardom over the years.
Of course, the production is far from perfect, but it’s clear that Jakks has a profuse love for this lovely style and they do their best on these songs.
Alec Michaels has a good voice, although a bit too accented at times, and he is helped by a competent band, specially Kkris Pueblas’ hot six-string performance.
As a starting point, “Fire” has plenty of heart and some rather pleasing songs, but the next one needs to be that much better to give Jakks a chance of getting anywhere.
Interesting.

01 – Just An Obsession
02 – Break Them
03 – Nothing Else Tonight
04 – Come Back To Me
05 – Everything
06 – Endless Nights
07 – For Your Love
08 – Making Me Burn
09 – Dreams
10 – Dont Hold You Back
11 – Angel Of My Dreams
12 – Follow Me [Bonus Track]
13 – Romperé (Break Them spanish version) [Bonus Track]
14 – Lejos De Ti (Come Back To Me spanish version) [Bonus Track]

Alec Michels – Vocals
Kkris Pueblas – Guitars
Akrue Novalis – Bass, Backing Vocals
Chris Motta – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Seba Arean – Drums, Backing Vocals

Additional Musicians:
German Simeone – Bass
Micaela Dive – Chorus (2,7,9)
Melissa Evila – Guitar (1,3)
Roque D’agostino – Acoustic Guitar (9)

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www.nehrecords.com/SHOP/JakksFire.htm