Melidian were a hard rockin’ band from the New York area who came to the attention of the rock public during 1989 with this album ‘Lost In The Wild’ on the major label CBS. Melidian have a very heavy handed sound, complimented by great keyboards and a terrific rhythm section.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Melidian
ALBUM: Lost In The Wild
LABEL: Columbia
SERIAL: ZK45160
YEAR: 1989
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Chris Cade – vocals, guitars * Jayson Lane – guitars * Eddie Wohl – keyboards * Dave Clark Howell – bass * Pete Greene – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Ready To Rock * 02 Livin’ Under The Gun * 03 Fire Up The Heart * 04 Sleepless Nights * 05 Hands Off * 06 Lost In The Wild * 07 Overheated * 08 Top Of The Rock * 09 Broken Toys
Background
A hard rockin’ band from the New York area who came to the attention of the rock public during 1989 with this album ‘Lost In The Wild’ on the major label CBS. Melidian have a very heavy handed sound, complimented by great keyboards and a terrific rhythm section. In fact there are more than a few passing shots at Stephen Pearcy’s Ratt.
There’s the Warren De Martini/Robin Crosby style guitarwork of Jayson Lane, drummer Pete Greene’s physical resemblance to Bobby Blotzer, and some of the songs veer close to their flavour of cheeze. For me, their musical approach is superb and the production is top notch. I first reviewed this album several years ago, and was a bit critical of the vocals, but in hindsight, and after listening to many other similar bands from that same era, Chris Cade’s voice is actually pretty good.
As a bit of history, Melidian had it’s origins in a band called Hellion, who did actually release an LP back in the early 80’s. These guys were no relation to the Ann Boleyn fronted outfit from California, and as it turned out, a war of words between the two camps ensued, as to who had first rights to using the name.
The band initially went to Toronto to work with Tom Trumbo and did some recordings up there, but returned to New York to finish the album under the guidance of Chris Cade and Ron Bard. At that point, Melidian hadn’t even bought in keyboardist Eddie Wohl nor guitarist Jayson Lane, they joined with half the album’s tracks already recorded.
The Songs
Nine tracks all up, and truth be said, some good songs shine through. The controlled fury of ‘Ready To Rock’ – which opens the album is a great start. It has lush keyboard parts which indicates a degree of classiness about this band plus the muscular riffs gives it a bit of steel.
‘Living Under The Gun’ sounds like Ratt with keyboards, which is no bad thing, but carried off with a slightly different delivery method. ‘Fire Up The Heart’ is doppleganger Ratt for sure, but is a gorgeous song nonetheless, one of the best on the album.
First ballad is the Eddie Wohl penned ‘Sleepless Nights’, a song he wrote when a member of his previous band Saige. It’s a flowing lush track, with all the typical AOR/melodic rock elements contained within. Melidian pick up the pace for the energetic ‘Hands Off’, a chugging sort of track, with prominent keys and contender for ‘anthem moment’ on the album.
The title track is a heavy-ish track, Cade growls his way through proceedings in keeping with the songtitle, there is a very cool Reb Beach styled solo from Lane, which adds the hundreds and thousands to the song. ‘Overheated’ could be ‘Fire Up The Heart’ part II, and continues the sonic tapestry that Melidian have laid down already. Again, some tasty solo work brings this track to the forefront.
There’s no let-up as ‘Top Of The Rock’ pushes the envelope with an excellent chorus, and then shifts gear mid song to an accelerated tempo which goes beyond ‘fast’. The closing track ‘Broken Toys’ is an old Hellion track given a reworking. It’s an intense mid-paced affair, that features acoustic passages and lush orchestration.
In Summary
According to the liner notes on the Rock Candy reissue (written incidentally by ReynoRoxx), Melidian went out on the road with Tora Tora and Mitch Malloy, but had to do so without drummer Pete Greene who left the band early on in the piece (he was replaced by Kirk Henry), and practically zero tour support.
The band weren’t able to continue on due to record label indifference and the changing industry climate. Band members all went on to other projects beyond Melidian. Though it was easy to track down on LP, the original CD version was very hard to find. Now that ‘Lost In The Wild’ has been given a full remastering job, it should be easier to obtain now more than ever.
Video
Ready To Rock
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
