FULL TILT – Balance (2013)
As requested, here’s the second album from Ohio based melodic hard rockers FULL TILT. Its title, “Balance“, properly describes what the band has done here, mixing their brand of ’80s / early ’90s melodic hard rock with a strong, traditional classic rock feel. What we like about FULL TILT is that they try bring a new flavor to this hard to break through genres.
For this second effort not only do they stick to the formula of their debut, but all the elements of their debut are in full display here. Whether is the melodic 80s hooks of “Share Some Sugar” with it’s Danger Danger inspired chorus, to the updated classic rock approach in the opener of “Balance”.
While I mentioned Danger Danger, that’s not the overall style / sound on “Balance”: what you’ll hear here is a mix of Two Fires (Kevin Chalfant / Jim Peterik band), The VU, and early Pride Of Lions. Of course, not at the same stature, but inspired by, and that’s a great thing!
Also, what makes Full Tilt so special is singer Devan Stokosa, who uses his classic soaring voice without half-assing anything — it’s almost as if his life depends on giving a great performance. Stokosa reminds me of a young Oni Logan with his natural and soulful ’70s inspired voice — and even though this album is heavier than your typical AOR fare you can easily picture him getting recruited by a big name band from that genre… his voice is that powerful.
Of course having exceptional pipes means nothing if you can’t write a memorable song, and thankfully Full Tilt have several of those up their sleeves as well.
Where I really think the band just jumps out you is ath their most rocking, just check out the cool intro into “Reentry” where Stokosa does a great job of matching the atonement of he’s voice with the build up pace of the song.
The coveted more edgier riff in “Livin Lonely” features a nice vocal approach again by Devan, but while the simplistic guitar chords may not impress some even with a nice guitar solo, the overall rhythm and bass is solid, and the drum work by Neil Moyer are sealed and done very crisply.
“Bring the Pain” ends the disc with some an outburst of aggression, always driven by melody.
Bands like Full Tilt need our attention, especially if they come from America with this type of rock with a classic sound is so hard to find nowadays. The band seems to be on hiatus now and we hope they reunite soon, we need more classic rock!
Highly Recommended
01 – Balance
02 – The Choice
03 – Share Some Sugar
04 – Reentry
05 – Face the Day
06 – Livin Lonely
07 – Say Goodbye
08 – Bring the Pain
Devan Stokosa – Lead Vocals
Nick Mucci – Guitars
Adam Furay – Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
Neil Moyer – Drums, Percussion
out of print
