VICTORY – Don’t Talk Science [retail CD]

VICTORY was one of the most interesting German bands of the ’80s releasing such melodic / hard rock gems as ‘Don’t Get Mad… Get Even’ (1986), ‘Culture Killed The Native (1989)’, ‘Temples Of Gold (1990)’. The group remained active during the Nineties, but after ‘Voiceprint (1996)’, they somehow fell into oblivion quite a while and even dissolved.
For many years it was quiet around Victory’s camp until 2003, when the comeback album ‘Instinct’ was released featuring the new vocalist Charlie Huhn (ex Ted Nugent).
This decade returned stronger than ever, with a this CD entitled “Don’t Talk Science“, requested by one of you here.

With new singer Jioti Parcharidis at the mic, Victory proves once again that they are still one of the most competent bands from the legendary German hard rock scene. After listen this new album “Don’t Talk Science” entirely, I’m pretty sure this is one of the best albums in this genre in recent years.
While Victory has been always very melodic (and they still are), on many tracks of “Don’t Talk Science” the approach is quite hard ‘n heavy, but in a good way, displaying a great variety of arrangements, very good songwriting with no song sounding the same.

The powerful heavy rocker “Restless” blows the listener right from the start with an unexpectedly large amount of in-your-face energy. The has a fantastic driving groove, razor yet polished electric guitars, and solid vocals from new singer Jioti Parcharidis. Everything sounds fat and big as you would expect from a hard rock album.

Follower “Speak Up” has the same vibe as the opener: golden ’80s-styled uptempo rocker with crunchy riffs and a monster rhythm section. This track reminds me the most commercial Accept (maybe ‘cos guitarist Herman Frank used to play on that band) but much more accessible and catchy.
“Rockstar” is another melting hard rocker, this time with some American influences and a nice guitar duel at the end.

“Love Kills Love” slows downs the pace a little, sounding a lot like late ’80s Whitesnake, especially the vocal work. Parcharidis was a great find for Victory, this is a serious singer with an incredible range and volume
, he has the ability to change his
vocal expression between each track. The chorus on this one is really infectuous.

“Burn Down The City” has an intense hard bluesy groove, while “Down Load Down” puts the pedal to the metal again (akin Accept), rocking in you face with class.
“Right Between The Eyes” is absolutely American, with multi-layered backing vocals and a muscular riff. This track is one of the highlights, this band knows how to write a good biting song!

The anthemic “Blinded By Darkness” offers again more variation on this very good album, both guitars have a different sound than on the previous tracks, and Jioti sings his heart out here. Excellent guitar solo here as well.
“Victim Of Lies” is another strong song, an emotional trip back to the Eighties glory. This is some kind of a midtempo but powerful and meaty.

“Waiting For The Wind” was originally written by a band called Spooky Tooth, this is a retro rocker with a very, very original guitar work by the duo Tommy Newton / Herman Frank.
Last song is a cover of disco / pop band Pointer Sisters. Victory has added adrenaline and guitars to the song and what we have is a killer melodic rock extremely catchy. This is the only track including keyboards (nice touch) that increases the melody. Big backing vocals and hot guitar solo makes this tune another winner.

“Don’t Talk Science” sould be considered among VICTORY best albums, in fact they never released a bad one in their entire career. The band has managed quite successfully to unite the magical moments of the golden ’80s with modern sounds but faithful to their pedigree. There’s no weak track on this disc, it’s varied and always entertaining plate.

The 5-piece sounds powerful, fresh, plenty of ideas and with an astonishing musicianship. Both axe-men offer a monster wall of guitars and vocalist Jioti is one of the best I heard in recent years. Production is first rate, crisp and big, I mean; BIG.
Think the recent TREAT albums in terms of quality and energy. Yes, it’s that good.
Highly Recommended

01 – Restless
02 – Speak Up
03 – Rockstar
04 – Love Kills Love
05 – Burn Down The City
06 – Down Load Down
07 – Right Between The Eyes
08 – Blinded By Darkness
09 – No Return
10 – Victim Of Lies
11 – Go To Hell
12 – Waiting For The Wind
13 – I’m So Excited

Jioti Parcharidis – Vocals
Tommy Newton – Guitars
Herman Frank – Guitars
Peter Knorr – Bass
Achim Keller – Drums

BUY IT !
musicbuymail.com/de/shop/cd/victory-dont-talk-silence-cd
.