JULY REIGN – Here Comes The Flood (2016)
Another great new addition to the MelodicRock Records roster, “Here Comes The Flood” is the debut album by JULY REIGN. July Reign is the brainchild of guitarist Sheldon Scrivner who, having heard Evidence One, contacted vocalist Carsten “Lizard” Schulz to enquire if he was interested in collaborating with him and long-time cohort drummer Mark Duran.
A few songs evolved into a whole album, and “Here Comes The Flood” is the result.
Produced by Scrivner and Rolf Munkes (Tony Martin, Empire) it’s a pretty edgy melodic hard rock album, with a sharp guitar works and powerhouse vocals by Carsten “Lizard” Schulz
After a brief intro, the album kicks in with the immense ‘Inferno’; a full-on guitar-led rocker featuring fantastic work from Scrivner, a guitarist new to me but would love to hear more of.
Anyone familiar with last year’s Carsten Lizard Schulz Syndicate release will know what a great set of pipes Carsten has and this is highlighted on ‘Rage Of Pain’ and ‘Rest In Ruins’ – two powerful hitters.
The album continues delivering hot tunes with Scrivner’s guitar work really standing out, not forgetting the solid drumming of Duran. This gives the sound an amazing depth, particularly on the track ‘Heart Of The Sun’, a beast of a song and my personal album highlight on the album.
The sound on this release is very tight and far better than most debut releases, non-more so than on the title and final track, ‘Here Comes The Flood’, a beautiful song capturing a trio of musicians putting in there A-game; a great way to end the album and the cue to hit play again.
This really is a very, very good debut release from JULY REIGN that showcases the talents of the three parts. It is well written, has great playing and the production is of the highest order.
This is as good as edgy Melodic Hard Rock gets and, in a year with so many great releases out or due out, it deserves its chance to stand with the big boys.
A great new addition to the MelodicRock Records roster; here’s hoping for more Reign (but not in July).
This one was requested many times on this blog, not easy to get CD.
Highly Recommended
01 – Intro
02 – Inferno
03 – Rage Of Pain
04 – Rest In Ruins
05 – Madness & Despair
06 – Time Is Fighting Me
07 – Heart Of The Sun
08 – Fly
09 – Pure At Heart
10 – Alchemy Of Truth
11 – When It’s Dark
12 – Here Comes The Flood
Sheldon Scrivner – Guitars, Keyboards
Carsten ‘Lizard’ Schulz – Vocals
Mark Duran – Drums
Steffen Seeger – guest Keyboards
BUY IT !
www.nehrecords.com/SHOP/JulyHere.htm
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