HEAVEN & EARTH – Hard To Kill (2017)
“Hard To Kill”, the fourth studio album from Los Angeles based hard rockers HEAVEN & EARTH will be released next October 13, via Quarto Valley Records Founded by British-born guitar virtuoso Stuart Smith, Heaven & Earth specializes in classic, melodic, traditional hard rock with a bluesy feel but dynamic and with a modern production.
In spite of years gone by and major changes within the band, their newest album “Hard To Kill” not only picks up where their 2013 effort left off; what is even more surprising, it also doesn’t fall far from 1999 all-star debut CD recorded under the moniker of ‘Heaven & Earth feat. Stuart Smith’, the one that started it all.
Stylistically, it’s still pure, classic Hard Rock sound with a tint of blues and lots of melody – with Whitesnake, Rainbow and a certain Deep Purple-ish tone to it.
In fact Heaven & Earth reminds me of Burning Rain, the side band of Revolution Saints’ Doug Aldrich: bluesy hard rock with a punch.
If it hadn’t been for obviously modern production, the album’s eponymous song alone might have served for a lost gem of the late Seventies or early Eighties.
Its feisty, pulsating groove and lush instrumental background set the standard for the rest of the album, echoed in tracks like “Beautiful Monsters” or “Hellfire”. Juicy, blues-infused tracks like “Till It’s Over” and “The Game Has Changed” sound as if conceived halfway a spontaneous jam session in a smoky joint.
On the other hand, the driving, stomping rhythm of “Anthem” shows yet another side to the “live vibe” so typical of the band’s sound. There’s also a place for pieces of emotionally laden balladry on the album, from semi-acoustic mid-tempo “Bleed Me Dry” towards the dramatized, bluesy vibe of “LA Blues” and dark-ish, moody tone of “Bad Man” – the latter giving Hard To Kill its deservedly haunting grand finale.
“We created a monster,” goes Joe Retta in the seventh track on “Hard To Kill” and this is perhaps the best summary of all, the new offering by Heaven & Earth being a monster of a record indeed.
The total number of songs on the album is eleven – each of them fueled by scorching fretwork and blaring Hammond sound and completed with tight rhythm section and Retta’s powerhouse voice. And each of them, in its own unique manner, transforms what was best in Classic bluesy Hard Rock into the modern era.
As proven by their newest release, Heaven & Earth are not only hard to kill – also, they’re back with style.
One of best albums of the year folks… KILLER
01 – Hard to Kill
02 – Walk Away
03 – Till It’s Over
04 – Bleed Me Dry
05 – The Game Has Changed
06 – Anthem
07 – Monster
08 – L.A. Blues
09 – Hellfire
10 – Beautiful Monsters
11 – Bad Man
Joe Retta (lead vocals, harmonica)
Stuart Smith (guitars)
Lynn Sorensen (bass)
Mike Mangan (keyboards)
Steve Wilson (drums, percussion)
guests:
Kenny Aronoff (Jon Bon Jovi, Rolling Stones) – drums
Ty Baillie (Katy Perry, Robbie Robertson) – keyboards
PRE ORDER:
www.amazon.co.uk/Hard-Kill-Heaven-Earth/dp/B074ZMZGN7
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