PROJECTED – Ignite My Insanity (2017)

There’s a lot of heavy riffs and high energy coming through the speakers with the super group PROJECTED new double-album “Ignite My Insanity,” the band’s sophomore effort since their foundation in 2012.
The band’s is comprised by frontman John Connolly and bassist Vince Hornsby (both from Sevendust), Scott “Flip” Phillips of Creed & Alter Bridge on drums, and Tremonti’s guitarist Eric Friedman.

While I am not fan at all of their respective main bands, in Projected these musicians go for a different approach. Still with some metal edge and a modern sound, Projected is much more ‘classic rock’, from arrangements to performance. And they create very interesting music.
“Ignite My Insanity” is being released by the same specialized recording label which has in their ranks the likes of Lynch Mob, Michael Sweet, KXM, so you know what to expect.

Disc one kicks off with instrumental “Strike,” which is mostly composed of unusual layered sounds prior to “Reload.” This song is incredibly high energy and definitely sets the pace for the rest of the record, providing a peek at what lies in store for listeners on the remainder of the album. The vocals are echoic and intense and the drum and 6-string work are arranged for maximum impact.
Then there is “Faith” which features Connolly exploring the husky end of his clean vocals and offers a mellow experience that coincides with the message of the song. The acoustic guitar sound gives it an earnest feel that comes across more stripped down and less pretentious than some other more bloated love songs in the market.

Things pick back up with “Gomorrah” and the upswing in energy that comes with it. The Phillips’s drums roll and bounce, setting the pace for this modern rock track. “Heaven Above” adds a hard rock groove with a bright production, while losing out disc one is “Only” which comes in with heavy with pure riffage and pummeling drums.

Getting into the second disc, the band starts with “Fire” and its rhythmic beats and layered crackling and scratching sounds. Once almost three minutes of that have lapsed, we get into “Ignite”, a full-charge rocker. Listening to is like being in a high-speed chase but not fearing a crash ending. It is just frantic enough quicken your pulse but rides evenly enough to cascade easily through with balance and composure.

Later on, “Hate You Back” is a solemn saunter in the beginning that evolves into something more harder. The chorus soars and the instrumentation is infectious and up sweeping.
Wrapping up the album is the chugging fervor of “Battlestations.” Like preparing for war, this song is an all-hands on deck adventure that holds no punches with melting guitars.

While there are some tracks on “Ignite My Insanity” that could just as easily have been excluded without affecting the overall impact, this double-CD is, for the most part, very good.
Projected is formed by really competent cats who know how to write a good song, and whilst modern, their hard rock / metal style has a wide potential audience.

CD 1:
01 – Strike
02 – Reload
03 – Six Feet Below
04 – Vain
05 – Rectify
06 – Faith
07 – Gomorrah
08 – Heaven Above
09 – 10 Years Gone
10 – Only

CD 2:
01 – Fire
02 – Ignite
03 – Call Me the Devil
04 – Concede
05 – Inhuman
06 – Better
07 – Hate You Back
08 – Upside Down
09 – Seconds
10 – Inside the Sun
11 – Battlestations

John Connolly – vocals, guitar
Vince Hornsby – bass
Scott “Flip” Phillips – drums
Eric Friedman – guitar

BUY IT !
www.ratpakrecordsamerica.com/projected
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