It would be unfair to compare ‘Still Alive’ with Silent Rage’s prior efforts, as a lot of water has passed under the bridge since those heady days of the ‘hair-metal 80’s’. It’s melodic hard rock yes, with the guitar solos perhaps pushing it into metal territory.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Silent Rage
ALBUM: Still Alive
LABEL: Z Records
SERIAL: ZR 1997071
YEAR: 2002
CD INFO: Discogs Info List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Jesse Damon – vocals, guitars * Mark Hawkins – guitars, vocals * E.J Curse – bass, vocals * Brian Fox – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Still Alive * 02 Unchained * 03 Whisky Woman * 04 Livin’ For The Moment * 05 At My Command * 06 Is It My Body * 07 When The Night Is Over * 08 The Hunger * 09 Remember Me * 10 I’m Back
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
Certainly a band that has lived up to it’s album title, and after a period of a decade or more, the thunder from L.A returns. Silent Rage from their early days were right up there in my popularity stakes. ‘Don’t Touch Me There’ still does ‘touch me there’, a powerful set of tunes which demonstrated what a great year 1989 was.
When that incarnation of the band went into hiatus during the 90’s, all appeared to be lost. Thank heavens for the power of the Internet and the determination of Silent Rage fans. Combined with this these two aspects was the renewed enthusiasm of the band itself.
At the time, Jesse Damon was in the process of securing a solo deal, and as a result, the whole Silent Rage thing was breathed new life, hence a recording deal with Z Records, a transatlantic gig to the UK, and this resultant album ‘Still Alive’.
The Songs
It would be unfair to compare ‘Still Alive’ with Silent Rage’s prior efforts, as a lot of water has passed under the bridge since those heady days of the ‘hair-metal 80’s’. It’s melodic hard rock yes, with the guitar solos perhaps pushing it into metal territory.
The lead off title track nods a head in the direction of former L.A heroes Lion. ‘Unchained’ features some massive choruses, a trademark of the Silent Rage sound.
Some ‘big’ drums introduce us to ‘Living For The Moment’, with a chant-a-long section out of the Eyes handbook. Love that line: ‘if you don’t like what you see, that’s a fucking shame, and if I wanna raise some hell, I’m gonna do it right now’ How’s that for attitude? Yee hah.
And as you would have guessed, this track kicks ass. ‘At My Command’ is a heavier guitar laden monster, similar to stuff from their ‘DTMT’ era. A highlight of the album for me is the epic sounding power-ballad ‘When The Night Is Over’. The chorus and the harmony vocals are superb on this one. Mostly though, it’s a slow burner.
‘Remember Me’ is another of those 80’s styled rockers, and for a minute I thought I was listening to Billy Idol, not a bad thing (I think?).
In Summary
All in all though, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this album, and apologies to the S.R team for not reviewing this earlier. Don’t look for any immediate comparisons to their past work, as I think you’ll be comparing apples to golf balls. Look at it in a fresh context and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Silent Rage on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
