JOSHUA – Resurrection +2 [Collectors Edition]

Long time Melodic Hard Rock AOR fans should remember JOSHUA, the American combo led by guitarist Joshua Perahia and their excellent ’80s albums ‘Surrender’ and ‘Intense Defense’, or the more Hard Rock oriented debut ‘Hand is Quicker Than The Eye’.
Since the golden decade Perahia has released only two albums, one solo and other under the M Pire moniker.
But almost after 25 years Joshua returned to his first love; Joshua-the Band, and an album properly named “Resurrection“, in this collectors edition including two bonus tracks.

In many ways, “Resurrection” sounds like it could have been the logical follow-up to the great ‘Intense Defense’ (1988), as many of the same styles and tones are incorporated into this CD. Accompanied by the incredible and unmistakable voice of Mark Boals and seasoned instrumentalists, this new version of Joshua has delivered a quality rockin’ album for all tastes.
Opener “Divine Intervention” is catchy, muscular AOR track and a great way to start this new Joshua offering.
After the short, polite instrumental “Where Eagles Fly”, we have another rocking AOR track in “The Voice Of Reason”, adorned with stabbing keyboards and some acoustic guitars in the middle, and then the melody turns more intense at the end.

Things get harder in the Sabbath / Tony Martin hard rocker “Blood on the Nile” where Joshua’s guitar playing is jaw dropping throughout supported by dark keys creating a mysterious atmosphere. Great song.
“World At War” is epic and even more heavy akin the band’s first album, while the midtempo “The Darkside of Man” delivers thick riffs and monster melodic grooves.
The inclusion of Boals on vocals gives Joshua the opportunity to explore some more blues-based material on this album. Nowhere is this more apparent or effective than on the gritty, heavy blues of “Behind The Walls” and “Miracles”, both of which are among the very best songs on an album full of excellent and varied material.

This ‘Collectors Edition’ (limited to 888 hand-numbered copies) includes – apart from an edited version of “Blood On The Nile” – two real gems.
The first, the catchy hard rocker “Dirty Games” recorded in 1991 featuring that incarnation of the band with Robyn Kyle Basuri of Red Sea fame on vocals.
“Secrets” is the other, a killer tune that I have to wonder why this is only seeing the light of the day now as it is a fantastic commercial AOR song that zips along nicely and really would have made a good single all those years ago. Both are excellent songs of surprisingly good quality, especially considering these are rehearsal recordings with no overdubs or edits at all. Pure ’80s magic.

“Resurrection” is a great return for Joshua (the band), commanded by Joshua Perahia’s classic songwriting and his excellent playing.
In Mark Boals he has found the perfect foil for his melodic rocking music and there are only good songs on this album. The most incredible thing about this new outfit though, is that it manages to take elements of all Joshua’s previous works and blend them into a varied, enjoyable listen.

This is a very good rocking disc, melodic and punchy. Let’s hope that Joshua and Company return to the studio much sooner than this last time and don’t make us wait so long before unleashing an album of this quality.
Highly Recommended

01 – Divine Intervention
02 – Where Eagles Fly
03 – The Voice of Reason
04 – Blood on the Nile [long version]
05 – World at War
06 – The Darkside of Man
07 – Behind the Walls
08 – Live Out a Lie
09 – Miracles
10 – Promises
11 – Blood on the Nile [single] Collectors Ed. bonus)
12 – Sing Hallelujah
13 – Dirty Games (Collectors Ed. bonus)
14 – Secrets (Collectors Ed. bonus)

Joshua Perahia – Guitars
Mark Boals – Vocals
Scott Warren – Keyboards
Bryan Fleming – Bass
Dino Maddalone – Drums
Rob Rock – Vocals on “Secrets”

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