Cadence

New album from the reformed `Bangalore Choir' returning after an 18-year absence, releasing their second studio effort `Cadence'. It is very much due to the return of lead singer David Reece in the music scene as a member of Gypsy Rose in 2008 while also debuting his solo career in 2009. At that time David would come to the conclusion that there was substantial demand amongst fans for his late 80's early 90's melodic hard rock outfit `Bangalore Choir'.Following the reissue of their debut `On target' a few months back, David hits the studio with a reassembled `Bangalore Choir': The vocalist reunites with lead guitarist Curt Mitchell and bass player Danny Greenberg while also bringing in Andy Susemihl (the guitarist from David's solo band) and drummer Hans Zandt.It has to be clear that despite the intervening years the new `Bangalore Choir' is just as capable as it was 20 years ago. As you probably have experienced Reece's voice has not diminished one bit, being the admirable and very expressive force it has always been, the guitarists recreate the impressive lead guitar word of the original album- still, as with any album, it mostly comes down to the songs.It would be fair to say that amongst fans, `Bangalore Choir' are remembered for their love themed lyrics which they explore in a very dynamic fashion. `Cadence' very much follows the same course yet thanks to the 14 songs on offer here, the band has the chance to go beyond love/hate messages to write about survival, everyday struggles and quite often get retrospective. Favorite tracks include `martyr', `Never say goodbye', `Sweet temptation' and `Surrender all your love'.At its basis it still is `Bangalore Choir' yet a bit darker and more diverse which makes strong references to their debut. For any fan of the band or of their singer this is a classy and complete melodic hard rock offering that very much justifies the reunion of `Bangalore Choir'."Classic Rock" UK magazine (issue 150) marks the album with 7/10 commenting: "Cadence splendidly reheats the hard-meets-hooky elements that brought the debut such cult status".

As has often been written, the Choir were fated by bad-timing with their debut release On Target. A superb album of catchy, singalong, radio friendly eighties metal, in a Bon Jovi/Mr Big style; it was doomed by the changing face of the biz. Grunge arrived, and all of a sudden this sort of music was "forgotten".Well, of course, anyone who knows anything about music knows that trends don't count for much; they come and go. But quality in songwriting and musicianship will always shine through, and there is plenty of both in evidence here. Cadence doesn't just serve up more of the same, it clearly is a progression. If anything it is heavier than On Target but the songs are well crafted, and there are still some anthemic singalongs! Nice touch having Chris Voysey play some tasty leads on the final track. Anyone who knows David Reece's history will know that he cut his teeth playing in Minneapolis based band Dare Force. English guitarist Chris Voysey was a part of that so it seems fitting that he plays on this all these years later.Good album, perhaps not as radio friendly as On Target (not that that this sort of music is considered radio friendly anyway these days), but any fan of good melodic, well crafted metal will love it. Buy it!