JOE LYNN TURNER – Belly Of The Beast (2022) *HQ*

Legendary hard rock singer JOE LYNN TURNER is ready to release his new album, “Belly Of The Beast“, on October 28. The wildest times call for the freest of voices. After selling millions of records, playing to countless fans, and fronting some of the most influential rock bands in history, award-winning songwriter and vocal dynamo Joe Lynn Turner speaks his mind as loudly as possible on his eleventh full-length offering and Mascot Label Group debut, “Belly Of The Beast”.
Joining forces with producer Peter Tägtgren (HYPOCRISY, PAIN, LINDEMANN), the New Jersey-born powerhouse conjures up the kind of metal / hard rock that not only makes you throw your fist in the air, but also makes you think.

“‘Belly Of The Beast’ is a phrase we’ve heard over and over again in history,” he observes. “You can trace the cults and corruption all over the world back to prophecies in the Bible. It feels like it’s coming to fruition these days. When you look at the book of Revelation, there it is. I’ve always dipped into esoteric knowledge, hermeticism, occultism, Bible research, eclectic philosophy. I’ve been fascinated with discovery of hidden mysteries. We are in a true spiritual war right now. It’s good versus evil. We’ve all got an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other.
We’re in the belly of the beast, trapped in the system, and there’s no way out of it. The album addresses this.”

This is a revitalized Joe Lynn Turner.
At the age of 71 he’s been able to reveal that he wore a hairpiece since the age of 14, due to a diagnosis of alopecia at the age of three. And for that he deserves huge respect.
More importantly is ‘Belly of the Beast’, his latest album and one hell of a solid record.

And we say this is a revitalized Joe because instead of simply deliver another melodic hard rock record – he can craft excellent albums in this genre for sure – he called Peter Tägtgren, an man known for shaping more modern metal bands.
Together, they created 11 tracks of stellar hard rock with a huge and contemporary sound. It’s fast, vibrant and his vocals are sounding as good today as they did over four decades ago.

Combining the historical biblical references about the belly of the beast with a more current view of its meaning, Turner is focused on his new material, and it shows.
The first thing you notice is just how ferociously heavy this album is. The title track is electric, alive in pace and power, a vibrant, pulsating song that has screaming guitar, pounding drums and a double take needed to check that this really is Joe Lynn Turner.
For much of the album it doesn’t get much lighter… this is a revitalized Joe.

‘Black Sun’ changes style, bringing an industrial stomp which is dominated by a crunching riff which echoes German superstars Rammstein. Sure, Tägtgren has exerted a more than little influence from the producer’s chair.
Then there’s the epic ‘Dark Night of the Soul’, which has more symphonic and orchestral elements and allows Lynn Turner to really open the pipes. Plenty of variation, melody, and hard riffs throughout keep this album interesting.

There is a definite crunch to the album, but still plenty of the melodic style that we always associate with the man who has fronted Rainbow, Deep Purple and Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force.
‘Don’t Fear the Dark’ has a poppy beat but still packs a punch, whilst penultimate track ‘Living the Dream’ is upbeat, toe tapping and a good, reliable hard rock song.
Finishing off the album is the dramatic ‘Requiem’ which has the epic, melodic rock feel of the ’80s but with a modern twist.

”Belly of the Beast” surprised me with its vibrancy. Decades after delivering some of the greatest pieces of melodic hard rock, Joe Lynn Turner is in no mood to surrender yet – he’s up-to-date and rocks like few.
KILLER

01 – Belly Of The Beast
02 – Black Sun
03 – Tortured Soul
04 – Rise Up
05 – Dark Night Of The Soul
06 – Tears Of Blood
07 – Desire
08 – Don’t Fear The Dark
09 – Fallen World
10 – Living The Dream
11 – Requiem

Pre order:
www.mascotlabelgroup.com/products/joe-lynn-turner-belly-of-the-beast-cd