FRAZE GANG (Brighton Rock) – Fraze Gang 2
Remember Canadian rockers Brighton Rock? They released a series of really good straight forward melodic hard rock albums in the late ’80s and early ’90s spawning hair metal anthems such as “We Came To Rock” and “Can’t Wait For The Night”. All their albums have been featured at 0dayrox few days ago. When Brighton Rock broke-up two members of the band, Greg Fraser and Stevie Skreebs, after some years on vacation decided to go on their own way and to serve the kind of music they love the most, and FRAZE GANG was born.
Fraze Gang debuted in 2006 with their self-titled / self released album, plenty of late ’80s inspired tunes, both in sound & style. The got a record deal two years after, and “Fraze Gang” was reissued / remastered including an extra track, mixed by legend Beau Hill.
After shows all over North America and a batch of fresh new songs, Fraze Gang released this simply titled “Fraze Gang 2”, a much more organic disc in all aspects. The music delivered by Fraze Gang is melodic hard rock with nods to Brighton Rock but opting to pursue other directions, some with modern tinges.
Opener “Saint Or Sinner” is one of the best tracks of the whole CD, containing enough ’80s melody and energy to keep Brighton Rock and fans of the golden era satisfied. The guitar work is meaty and solid.
“In Your Face” follows, with a lovable Dokken-esque riff dominating a track with very good atmosphere. The same cool vibe is present in “Tough Enough” wich reminds me early Beggars & Thieves. The band go for more modern hard rock sounds on some tracks like “Juggernaut”, “White Lightning” and “Rampage”, however the ‘modern’ factor is put in the production, ‘cos songwriting-wise these are from the ’80/90s factory.
There’s time as well for slow numbers on the good acoustic “This Is It”, and mid-paced “Never Want To Say Goodbye” reminiscent of that traditional pristine Canadian recordings from the golden era.
The music offered on Fraze Gang’s “2” will be familiar to Brighton Rock and late Eighties hard rock fans. Their sound is more contemporary though, based on a very good guitar job and fine musicianship.
Greg Fraser is an experienced musician and a fine producer as well so expect a balanced sound, and Beau Hill’s (Ratt, Warrant) mixing helps a lot to bring all the instruments clear out of the speakers.
An enjoyable hearing for melodic rock fans of all ages.
Highly Recommended
01 – Saint Or Sinner
02 – In Your Face
03 – Juggernaut
04 – Never Want to Say Goodbye
05 – White Lightning
06 – Tough Enough
07 – I Just Want to Make Love to You
08 – Don’t Call Us We’ll Call You
09 – This Is It
10 – Rampage
Greg Fraser (Brighton Rock) – Lead vocals, guitar
Stevie Skreebs (Brighton Rock) – Bass & backing vocals
Phil Epp – Drum & backing vocals
Derek McGowan – Guitar
Rob Patterson – Keyboards & backing vocals
BUY IT
www.amazon.ca/2-Fraze-Gang-2012-07-17/dp/B01M8ORYH0
