RAIN OR SHINE – Seize The Night (2014)

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A new promising Melodic Rock act is coming from Greece; RAIN OR SHINE, with their just relesed debut “Seize The Night”.
Seems that part of the globe is a fertile land for Melodic Rock / AOR groups moulded in the classic sound of the genre, as recently heard from acts such as Wild Rose, Farraday, Kingdragon or Andy Rock.
Add Rain Or Shine to that list, as these guys have the talent for big things…

Actually, Rain Or Shine is the brainchild of musician, producer and sound engineer Steve S.R. who played in several underground Greek bands like Perfume and Backstage Love for the last ten years.
But one year ago, Steve decided to write his first own whole album.
Apart from his modulated lead vocals (very good English), Steve S.R. did everything from rhythm & lead guitars, bass and pianos to the synthesizers which are always all over these melodic songs.
The good this is that on the entire album there is real drums played by session musician Andy R. McCormick who also provided percussion and programming.

What we find on “Seize The Night” is pure late ’80s / early ’90 sounding Melodic Rock with Hard Rock / AOR touches, mostly crafted with an European sound in mind.
Skagarack, Bonfire, Da Vinci, etc, styles come to mind listening these ultra catchy songs like the hook-laden riff of opener “Fool’s Paradise”, the pulsating bass lines / keys of “It’s a Crime” (adorned with excellent female backing vocals during the chorus) or the AORish “Heartbreak”.
I hear some Europe and perhaps some Gary Hughes / Ten on the awesome groove of “Believe”, then title track “Seize The Night” gets harder yet melodious as hell, same as “All That Really Matters”.

“Spell I’m Under” is not a Winger cover, but a great midtempo melodic rocker which turns AOR during the highly harmonized chorus (again with effective female backing vocals).
Yes, of course, we have ballads; “Don’t Go” is an elegant, acoustic / electric guitar filled tune orchestrated by beautiful keyboards, and “Don’t Give Up” is the vehicle for Steve S.R. to showcase his talents just with piano, background synths and his lead vocals, although there’s a short electric guitar solo near the end.

Coming out from nowhere, Rain Or Shine has delivered and incredibly effective record on “Seize The Night”.
Evidently, Steve S.R. not only knows how to write & arrange a pure Melodic Rock tune in the classic style, he also is a very good producer / sound engineer as despite its low budget and being recorded at a home studio, the sound of “Seize The Night” is pretty good for an indie.
Let’s hope Steve S.R. assemble a band soon and start to play live, as all the songs on this CD deserve to be cranked at big venues.
Fans of classic Melodic Rock / AOR, I strongly advise you; don’t miss Rain Or Shine’s “Seize The Night”.
Highly Recommended.

01 – Fool’s Paradise
02 – It’s a Crime
03 – Believe
04 – Heartbreak
05 – Seize The Night
06 – Don’t Go
07 – Spell I’m Under
08 – Don’t Give Up
09 – All That Really Matters

Steve S.R. – Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Synths
Andy R. McCormick – Drums, Percussion

BUY IT !
rainorshine1.bandcamp.com/album/seize-the-night
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