SONS OF SILVER – Runaway Emotions (2025) *HQ*

After a couple of EP’s Los Angeles based rockers SONS OF SILVER are starting 2025 in the best way possible – a brand new album and a badass tour supporting Myles Kennedy’s The Art of Letting Go Tour.
The band, dubbed a “supergroup” by American Songwriter, brings together an experienced line up: bassist Adam Kury (Candlebox), guitarist Kevin Haaland (Skillet), drummer Marc Slutsky (Splender, Peter Murphy), vocalist / guitarist Peter Argyropoulos (Pete RG), and keyboardist Brina Kabler, who also engineered this full debut album titled “Runaway Emotions“.
Co-produced by the band and mixed by legendary engineer Tim Palmer (David Bowie, U2, Robert Plant), ”Runaway Emotions” is a sonic powerhouse combining the best of the 80s / 90s hard rock / power pop to current sounds, fueled by both power and raw emotion.

Opener ‘Tell Me This’ is a perfect showcase for SONS OF SILVER: old school thrills appear when a ragged guitar riff – falling somewhere between the trashy rock ‘n’ roll of Guns N’ Roses ‘You Could Be’ mine and more recent works by powerhouse vocalist Myles Kennedy – takes centre stage. The influences might draw from classic, older stock, but this doesn’t disguise the quality of the musicianship within. Here, guitarist Kevin Haaland plays up a storm, working choppy riffs with a tough edge, whilst vocalist Pete Argyropoulos (aka Pete RG) adds a slightly gruff yet melodic tone which really sells the track’s chorus.

Runaway Emotions” presents a selection of songs that really show off the band’s talents for classic sounding hard rock hooks. ‘Warning Signs’ sits alongside ‘Tell Me This’ in terms of delivery, again with a sharp guitar work and vocals full of swagger. Listen more closely, though, and you’ll hear both of these dominant forces being outshone by Candlebox bassist Adam Kury. Beneath the harder edged moments, he offers some busy bottom end riffs, and by the time everything reaches full flow, he augments the tune with a fantastic descending riff that really lifts this old style hard rock number to new heights.

‘Giving It Back’ adopts more of a retro twang from the lead guitar, and by allowing the bass to take the lead, there’s almost a goth-ish tone to the verse. Normal hard rock service is resumed on a simple pre-chorus where power chords underscore repetition of the title, before Pete reaches inside himself for a broader tone. Stretching the melodic elements a little further, his voice sounds great against a wall of guitars, celebrating a sound that falls somewhere between Alter Bridge and the more melodic end of the Shinedown catalog.
At the other end of the scale, ‘Friends’ shares an unexpected piano ballad, where Pete taps into a vocal that would’ve suited the much-missed Chris Cornell. It’s great to hear him approach a big melody in such a stripped back fashion, proving there’s often more to Sons of Silver than hard rock bluster.

For those who came looking for big riffs, however, ‘Ghosts’ will not disappoint, with howling, blues-tinged guitars opening the number against a barrelling drum part. Having given the listener a welcome jolt, the number than settles into another enjoyable hard rock workout where solid grooves share a love of a classic rock sound.

Elsewhere, ‘Hold Tight’ weaves a dual guitar sound into some kind of The Cult workout, whilst Pete finds a vaguely gruff tone that’s near perfect for the retro sound, before everything changes tack to make room for a more modern sounding hook (relatively speaking). The shift into brighter sounds creates something with more of a feel good heart without detracting from a tough edge, whilst ‘Baby Hang On’ fuses a by now familiar guitar sound with some rollocking bar room riffs. It’s the sound of the Silver lads at their most disposable, yet at the same time, there’s a pure heart to this number which still feels genuine.

There’s not anything that’s especially new about the Sons of Silver sound, but this union between Candlebox, Splender and Skillet members celebrates a hard rock sound with a slightly retro-alternative twist in a really solid way.
With solid playing throughout, and a few tracks sharing some big chorus hooks, this is the kind of hard rock release that aims to appeal to a very broad audience.
‘Runaway Emotions’ is a full length debut that shows how an often familiar sound can still yield a massive amount of power. It’ll take a few plays to really work its magic, but stick with it – the listening rewards are certainly worth it in the long run.
Highly Recommended

01 – Tell Me This
02 – Just Getting Started
03 – Giving It Back
04 – Running Out Of Words
05 – Baby Hang On
06 – Ghosts
07 – Nobody Minds
08 – Warning Signs
09 – Hold Tight
10 – Friends

Bass – Adam Kury (Candlebox)
Guitar – Kevin Haaland (Skillet)
Drums – Marc Slutsky (Splender, Peter Murphy)
Vocals, Guitar – Peter Argyropoulos (Pete RG)
Keyboards – Brina Kabler

Pre order:
shop.sonsofsilver.com/collections/runaway-emotions