SOVEREIGN CROSS – Rock In The Night (2017)
SOVEREIGN CROSS is the project masterminded by veteran songwriter & producer Gary B Sullivan which is presenting the new album “Rock In The Night“. A great cast of musicians from the hard rock / metal genre are here to round up the sessions.
Ace drummer Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio, Last In Line) added his unique style of thunderous power pounding, as he put fresh energy into each song.
Solid vocals by one of metal’s finest, Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen, Dokken) and singer / songwriter, Dion Colucci added depth. Bass performances by Phil Soussan (Ozzy, Billy Idol, Last In Line), Michael Manring (Michael Hedges Band) and Dion Colucci filled in the low end.
Tracks were mixed by Phil Soussan and John Cuniberti (producer for Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar).
In “Rock In The Night” you have a mix of instrumental songs with a classic ’80s melodic hard rock feel, obviously guitar driven but not in the ‘shred mode’. In fact, titles like ‘Follow the Light’, ‘Approach’ or ‘Frustrating Storm’ are ‘melodic songs’, I mean, with a song format, not guitar hero exercises.
On the song with vocals, we find a melodious midtempo tune in ‘Kneel’, a darker hard rocker in ‘Live to Serve’ (with Mark Boals singing in a ‘Dio style’), and a strong, quite epic track in ‘Snow White’ with some second half of the ’80s Black Sabbath / Tony Martin feel.
Closer ‘Iron to Iron’ push the pedal to the metal, however Boals’ melodic verses turn things very classic.
There’s good performances from these talented musicians, especially Vinny Appice’s always precise drumming and Phil Soussan’s deep end bass lines. Sullivan is a good songwriter and a correct guitar player, nothing outstanding but clearly he works to obtain a ‘band sound’ more than a personal spotlight.
Classic hard rock rich in melody is what you will get with SOVEREIGN CROSS’ “Rock In The Night”, an abum oriented to fans of the genre with an ’80s sound.
01 – Follow the Light
02 – Kneel
03 – Approach
04 – Live to Serve
05 – Harmonic Waves
06 – Calm Sea
07 – Snow White
08 – Frustrating Storm
09 – Iron to Iron
Gary B Sullivan – guitars
Mark Boals (Malmsteen, Royal Hunt) – vocals
Phil Soussan (Ozzy Osbourne, John Waite) – bass
Michael Manring (Michael Hedges Band) – bass
Dion Colucci (Full Armor) – bass
Vinny Appice (Dio) – drums
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