SERGEANT STEEL – Best Of : Ten Years Anniversary Limited Edition (2019)
the Real one
Austrian ’80s inspired melodic hard rockers SERGEANT STEEL are celebrating their tenth year anniversary with their new CD “Best Of : Ten Years Anniversary [Limited Edition]”, which will be released via Boyz Tyme Records on March 29, 2019.
Ready for the time when Sergeant Steel will be supporting Scorpions and Europe, this compilation of greatest hits covers the band’s discography; 2009’s Lovers & Maniacs, 2013’s Men On A Mission and 2015’s Riders Of The Worm.
All these albums / tracks selected here were mixed & mastered by iconic ’80s tweakers Michael Wagener and Beau Hill, so you know what to expect; polished and vibrant late ’80s sound & style.
Opening this Best Of, ‘Cry Out Your Heart, Baby!’ is probably one of my personal favorite tunes from Sergeant Steel. It has a real 80s Europe / Airrace-style opening keyboard line (for AOR lovers), up to the sky vocals, a memorable chorus, and gets a little tougher moving forward.
Next ‘Dirty Habits’ ditches the over the top boards for a bit of organ and a classic ‘hair metal’ guitar line. The kind of 4/4 that puts the rhythm section with their heads down and lets the guitar / vocals play it out. A song that could easily have been appeared in Slaugther’s ‘Stick It To Ya!’ album back then.
Speaking of Mark Slaughter, he appears as guest ‘Young and Hungry’, a lovely middle-of-the-road tune with some acoustics added to the mix, and a fine sing along chorus.
Then we find a previously unreleased version of ‘Where My Heart Is [Orchestral Version]’, a re-working of their original rocker here re-arranged in a ballad mode with piano and sweetened vocals, with background strings that artistically fades out during a vocal offering after nearly 4:50 minutes.
‘Happy Time (Love On Demand)’ is has a more modern European sleazy style, one of the best songs from Sergeant Steel’s Men On A Mission album.
‘Chasing Love’ delivers a funkier, bluesy hard rocking ’80s feel, then ‘Hot Widow’ reflects some Hurricane and perhaps 1989 Whitesnake influence with powerful vocals and a great lead guitar. Again ‘Mama Horny’ goes back to the bluesy melodies, with a bit of early Great White and why not Electric Boys.
‘Hammer Of Love’ starts with the famous prerequisite happy girls screaming, and the lead vocals surprisingly maintain the same pitch. While previous tracks reflect later ’80s sounds, ‘Hammer Of Love’ is harder, pre ‘85 in its energy, sound and delivery.
“Give Me A Call” is a cool power ballad, whereas the previouSly unreleased ‘The Burning’ brings the Best Of album to a fitting heavy conclusion with a track that combines the best of both old school and more modern sounds.
While only about 10 years old, Sergeant Steel sounds like they could have started in 1984 and are still generating new music nearly 35 years later. Over the course of three albums, Sergeant Steel have produced genuine ’80s US inspired worthy hits, and at the same time, reflected some more modern sounds that swept Europe in the last ten plus years.
“Best Of : Ten Years Anniversary [Limited Edition]” an excellent start for someone who isn’t familiar with the band’s sound, to discover a really good melodic hard rock act that brings back the sound of Eighties, plus a bit more updated sound.
Highly Recommended
01 – Cry Out Your Heart, Baby!
02 – Dirty Habits
03 – Happy Time (Love On Demand)
04 – Where My Heart Is (Orchestra Version) [Prev. Unreleased]
05 – Chasing Love
06 – Hot Widow
07 – Mama Horny
08 – Young and Hungry (feat Mark Slaughter)
09 – Hammer of Love
10 – Give Me a Call
BONUS TRACK:
11 – The Burning [Previously Unreleased]
Phil Vanderkill – lead vocals
Jack Power – guitars, vocals
Chuck Boom – guitars, vocals
Ben Bateman – keyboards
Ronny Roxx – bass
Kenny King, Cøsy Cøxx – drums
Pre Order:
www.sergeant-steel.com/merch/
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