TONY MILLS – Over My Dead Body (2015)

TONY MILLS, one of the greatest vocalists in hard rock & metal has just graced his fans with a brand new solo effort, “Over My Dead Body“.
Whether you are a fan of Mills because of Shy back in the day, or Siam, or projects like China Blue, Serpentine, his monumental task of replacing Tony Harnell in TNT for a time, or his solo albums (this is his 4th) or any of his session work … well as you can see, his resume loudly speaks and sings for itself.

“Over My Dead Body” hits on all of Mills’ former bands and projects, painting the music with his ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s and beyond influences. There’s hues of Siam, swathes of ‘80s influences like Queensryche, strokes of AOR, and brushes of everything else.
Tony Mills hasn’t had an easy time of late. He is still recovering from a serious heart attack. Now a lone wolf once more, at least for this album, Mills has recorded what is by far his most personal piece of work, kicking his demons in the arse and rocking out while he does it.
It’s a multi-faceted album that can be dark and gloomy, and then poppy and mainstream, like on “Somewhere in London”.

This CD is in turns melodic and mournful, reflecting the things the singer has gone through, at times seeing Mills laid bare as the cover might suggest.
Don’t think that this is some self reflective doom fest, mind, as there’s some cracking heavy melodic rock tracks here, most notably the upbeat and catchy “Northern Star”, and the Shy-like “No Love Lost” co-written with Paul Sabu, who owns a strong resume in his own right. The song is basically about some arse who breaks hearts and is hated in his hometown. You get an AOR vibe from this one, with massive backing vocals and a bunch of snark.

One of the most interesting tracks is “Bitter Suite”, that sounds like a religious hymnal. It seems like someone has been to a Catholic mass or two. ‘Reassures me, with a sigh and he opens the sky, to the light …’ well, you don’t have to reach too far to realize this is about life and death and Mills own health issues, which he has overcome.

You are going to get an ‘80s vibe from the guitars on the infectious “4 In The Morning”. It will remind you of his project China Blue, a band he played with Ragno in. The chorus is the most melodic on the album, and a highlight.
Same with “Somewhere In London”, a track that will please fans of Tony’s more Melodic Rock / AOR side. It’s hard not to compare Mills to Steve Perry sometimes, especially when he sings completely ‘clean’ as he does here. This track alone worth this CD.
On the darker side we have “Gate 21”, scene of the heart attack, followed by a cover of Jaques Brel’s “My Death” seeing Mills really delivering with vocal passion that really reminded me of Geoff tate.
“Free Spirits” is the appropriate ending to this record. As much of the album touches on, it’s about living your life, but it’s really about loving your life while you are still here as well.

On “Over My Dead Body” Tony Mills impresses on every level throughout what must have been a cathartic album. Lyrically is a massive F*ck You to everyone who attacked Mills in the past, proving that he is much more than anyone’s hired gun. And some songs here also talk about his confrontation with death.
It’s difficult to listen to this CD without thinking a bit of Queensryche’s ‘Operation Mindcrime’, with the smart lyrics, additional atmospheric inserts and Mills high register, but it’s a different breed of album.

Don’t be fooled; half of the album was co-written with Robert Sall, the talented Swede of W.E.T. and Work of Art. So as mentioned, there’s plenty of Melodic Hard Rock / AOR tunes here to please your melodious heart as well.
“Over My Dead Body” is a terrific CD, balanced, powerful, passionate, and greatly recorded & produced, mixed by legend Neil Kernon (Dokken, Qyueensryche, Lynch Mob) who also plays some fretless bass.
A must for fans of elaborated Hard Rock, AOR, Melodic Rock, etc, proving that Tony Mills has plenty more left to offer.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

01. Time Won’t Wait
02. 28 Flights
03. We Should Be on By Now
04. No Love Lost
05. Gate 21
06. My Death
07. Bitter Suite
08. Northern Star
09. 4 in the Morning
10. Somewhere in London
11. Free Spirits

Tony Mills – Lead and backing vocals
Robert Sall – guitars, keyboards, songwriting
Paul Sabu – guitars, songwriting
Henning Ramseth – guitars, keyboards, bass
Eric Ragno – keyboards, synths
Douglas Docker – keyboards, synths, vocals
Andreas Passmark, Victor Borge – bass
Neil Kernon – fretless bass, mixing
Andreas Nergard – drums

BUY IT !
www.amazon.co.uk/Over-Dead-Body-Tony-Mills/dp/B00R20DL9S
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