HIGHWAY SAINTS – Highway Saints (2014)

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There’s few modern hard rock bands that worth a listen nowadays, and HIGHWAY SAINTS form Richmond, Virginia, is one of them. The group (now reduced to a trio as the bass player left them) performs a high energy blend of modern rock and traditional American metal inspired in the eighties focused on melodic vocals, infectious, sharp, melodic guitar riffs and big choruses.

Highway Saints were founded in 2008 by drummer Chris Strickler and guitarist Patrick Verdi aiming to create commercial and radio-appealing anthemic rock music without abandoning their hard rockin’ roots.
The found a more than adequate cat in singer Zach Grabill as the guy ows a potent yet melodic set of pipes which turns quite raspy and ‘crooning’ on various tracks providing a classic eighties / nineties feel.
You can hear some of this in Highway Saints’ first single “Something For You”, but much more on the very good acoustically filled mid-tempo “Until The End” (a highlight), the broken & melodious “One More Time”, and the ballad “In My Dreams”, which will make rockers from 25 years ago rejoice. Not your usual modern rock crap for sure.

The energy of these guys explode on true melting rockers like “In This Moment”, “By Your Side” and “Build Me Up (Tear Me Down)”, balanced by groovier numbers such as “What Lies Beneath the Skin”, the bluesy-hard “Someone out There” and “Through the Open Door”.
A new highlight arrives with final track “Nothing Left”, a fully melodic instrumental composition propelled by a great guitar work and where the band as a whole really shines through it. Another proof that Highway Saints are not just another modern hard rock band ‘by numbers’.

“Highway Saints” is arena-oriented modern hard rock but with some kind of ‘spice’ that makes them different from the lot, blending their music with classic influences resulting in a highly enjoyable product for all audiences.
Although self-released and produced, you can tell, just by listening to one or two tracks, that they had put a lot of dedication creating this album as everything sounds polished and really well mixed.
Recommended.

01 – By Your Side
02 – In This Moment
03 – Someone out There
04 – Something for You
05 – Until the End
06 – What Lies Beneath the Skin
07 – Build Me up (Tear Me Down)
08 – Inside
09 – As the World Falls Down
10 – One More Time
11 – Through the Open Door
12 – In My Dreams
13 – Nothing Left (Instrumental)

Zach Grabill – Lead Vocals
Patrick Verdi – Guitar, Vocals
Mike Capocelli – Bass
Chris Strickler – Drums

BUY IT !
www.amazon.com/Highway-Saints/dp/B00HYLQI5Y
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