Liverbox – The Great Spirit of Rock’n’Roll
Metalapolis Records
Release Date: 18/08/23
Running Time: 52:11
Review by Simon Black
8/10
Finland’s Liverbox, like many bands that know how to make Rock ‘n’ Roll work without sounding derivative, started life as a covers band, honing their sound and groove before taking off the stabiliser wheels for their debut “Rock ‘n’ Roll Salvation”, and this sophomore effort carries on that vein as if no global pandemic had happened at all to slow them down.
Defining themselves as ‘Street Glam Rock’ actually does them no favours with this opus, as for me this is gutsy Hard Rock that owes more to pre-NWOBHM British Hard Rock and AC/DC than anything from the ‘glam’ eras either side of it. That’s no bad thing, as down ‘n’ dirty in the bike oil department rather than smudged eye-liner works for me just fine. OK, maybe a little Michael Monroe for good measure, but you get my drift..
This four-piece are a very tight affair indeed, and with the exception of the slightly off target album closer ‘Shangri La’ this beauty purrs along just fine throughout and has enough of an edge to appeal to the heavy end of the marketplace to boot. Although the sounds are definitely more Hard Rock than Metal, the vocals can switch into more Brian Johnson-esque territory from time to time and that really helps beef things up when needed and used as it is sparingly makes it doubly effective.
The trouble is this is a crowded marketplace and it’s really damn hard to not sound similar to the rest of the genre, but Liverbox manage to vary what they are doing across the record for it not to get stale. All that’s needed now is a good support slot with someone meaty to get them some exposure outside of their native Finland and fingers crossed, they’re off, because this record is a fine springboard for them.
‘Calling On You’ Official Lyric Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. Rock ‘n’ Roll Is My Religion
02. Whiskey Trails
03. Calling On You
04. Hard Love
05. Open Road
06. Reaper On Heels
07. Inside Outside
08. Freedom In My Rock ‘n’ Roll
09. Get Down
10. No One Way Ticket
11. Shangri La
LINE-UP:
Ile Järvenpää – Vocals & Percussion
Janne Aslak Räsänen – Guitar & backing vocals
Tero Nevala – Bass, Keyboards & backing vocals
Ozzi the Rose – Drums
LINKS:
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