Brazen Abbot caught my fancy back in the late 90s around the time "Bad Religion" was a hot property. There was an online retailer which has long since faded from existence, that loaded up their website with tons of song clips, a practice that not many niche places consider doing anymore, but for me, this was an essential clincher in whether I would actually like something or not. So many CDs were purchased from this place simply because they had soundclips and they were likeable. Of course the fact that
Brazen Abbot was being touted as a huge hard rock revolution with not one or two, but three lead singers trading off solo vocal duties, was a major draw, especially with
Joe Lynn Turner and Goran Edman being two of the headliners. Yes, this had to be something special indeed.
Fast forward six or so years, and JLT and Edman are still here. The third person seems to always change. For the debut, 1995's "Live and Learn" it was Glenn Hughes, and Turner wasn't there yet so we had Thomas Vikstrom instead. "Eye of the Storm" kept Vikstrom and added
Joe Lynn Turner, who would become a staple. This lineup held up through the next year's "Bad Religion". These albums were all good but varied quite a bit from one another. "Live" kept things more simplistic and bluesy, "Eye" was more Euro hard rock, and "Bad" was so super slick you could slide right off of it, and delighted with even more pompy Euro-ishness.
Then
Brazen Abbot disappeared for quite awhile. It is Bulgarian guitarist, Nikolo Kotzev's project anyhow, so no matter what vocalists are on board, he's the songwriter, the producer, the engineer, the mixer, the keyboardist, guitarist, violinist and pianist. Basically all they needed was percussion and singers, so he basically borrowed the entire
Europe line-up, giving us Ian Haughland, Mic Michaeli, and John Leven for drums, organs and bass respectively. You can't ask for a better backup band than that.
Nik was busy doing the double disc epic "Nostradamus" about the life and times of said famous person, so it was 2003 before BA resurfaced, this time without Vikstrom, adding the super hot vocal genius of the moment,
Jorn Lande, but yet, the disc kinda fell flat on its face. "Guilty As Sin" lacked much of the magic touch that had made the first three albums so good. Perhaps it was the great time gap that made the difference. But making up for lost time, here comes "My Resurrection". A title that hints maybe that the previous album wasn't up to snuff, so this one is a rebirth for the Brazen bunch.
And of course there's another personnel change, this time scrapping the entire backing band. They all went back to
Europe of course, not the continent, but the band, who reformed and even popped out a disc last year. So with them unavailable, there's a new bunch of guys that all do their jobs admirably although I can't say that I don't miss the previous set. They had played together for so many years before and during BA that they were as tight as tight can be. Ah and there's yet another vocal change. Followers of the band will be pleased to see that Edman and JLT are still here, singing their little hearts out as usual and injecting their songs with the sort of passion you have come to expect, but we are also treated to the voice of
Tony Harnell and even
Eclipse's Erik Martensson is brought in to solo on one song and provide backup for the following two after his stint in the spotlight. This makes for a great mix of voices that are different enough to warrant having a revolving door for singers on songs, so to speak.
"My Resurrection" manages to just give this "Eh, usual DP type stuff" reaction. Crackling thunder and a bell tolling begin it all but after that.there's not a lot of magic in the overall song, which isn't the way you want your album to kick off. Tons of guitar and the orchestra is let loose a few times for a taste of what's to come later in the album. That bridge is pretty sweet too with
Joe Lynn Turner crooning smoothly before yowling for the chorus. The highlight here is this startling laid back section that has this slow head banging rhythm that feels great, and it's a shame they don't use this more often in the song because that 30 seconds or so is better than the whole rest of the track put together. The opening is the first of many sound effect laden lead-ins, so get used to it.
"Bad Madman" makes up for the lackluster beginning by just being awesome! Goran Edman's performance is so kickass that I literally giggled when I first heard it. Why? Because he has this power of just extracting pure unglorified glee from the listener with just a twist or two on a few choice words that can turn a song around in a heartbeat.
I'm an admitted Goran Edman fanatic, but he's become such a fantastic vocalist over the years, he can start off on one page and end up completely on the other side of the book before the song is over, morphing into seemingly different people entirely and also coming to the show with an almost evil-like exaggerated side that makes one that loves vocals just giddy. He sounds completely out of his tree at times on
"Bad", insane asylum worthy, that reminds me of not only his nutty portrayal on Glory's "Itch" from "Crisis Vs. Crisis" but also of Jon Olivia's turns for the psycho when fronting in Savatage. The guitars are amazing as well but the keyboards, will blow you away, and what a difference an orchestra makes! This one ranks as being a moody masterpiece.
"Godforsaken" is
Tony Harnell with his metal side screaming to break free, and he lets loose like a howling wolf with such angsty lines as a repeated screeching of
"I don't care, I don't care!!" and the disillusioned
"I'm out" that seems like it's thrown over the shoulder in a careless attitude. Nikolo rocks out on the piano with a wild spree of talent, a burst of ivory that tickles right down the spine. This one is 100% hard rock and almost to
Starbreaker levels of metallicness. Without Harnell's knack for being able to sound so damned pissy, it wouldn't be quite as special because underneath it all, it's just another
Deep Purple inspired rocker.
"Dreams" is magnifique and the first offering on "Resurrection" that has the ability to turn heads and stun the soul. Nik has always been able to pen a beautiful ballad, and
Joe Lynn Turner, well, his voice was created just for singing them. What beautiful orchestral arrangements set the perfect backdrop here, fattening the presentation and laying the foundation for layers stacked upon layers of sound. The chorus is absolutely tear-drenched magnificence.
"I can never know you, cos you are only in my dreams." Piano cascades like rain falling and vaporizing into steam on a hot summer's night.
The lyrics are just as beautiful as the guitars, and both weave their own individual webs of enchantment. This is perhaps. the best song Kotzev has created since the Nostradamus epic. Nothing from the previous "Guilty As Sin", even came close to touching this.
"I can't stop thinking of you, hopelessly looking for a clue, so won't you step into the light, and somehow I'll steer you from the night, I will be there waiting for you, cos someday my dreams will come true."
"Flyin' Blind" is another crazy up-tempo ride, this time voiced by Goran Edman who sounds just fantastic, although not given as much room to stretch out and explore his range and abilities. This is pretty straightforward stuff, and typical of the
Brazen Abbot upbeat tune, featuring a blistering pacing that's perfect for highway driving, and every available inch of open space is packed with an insane amount of guitars that are just everywhere. It won't blow your mind, but does satisfy as a decent hard rocker in such skilled hands as these.
What the hell is this? That's my first impression. It sounds like vintage music that should be pumped out on a carousel ride at some run down carnival in a supermarket parking lot. Then that just falls away and the song starts to kick you right in the arse, thanks to
Tony Harnell again, who is back in front of the mic dazzling with his
"yeah yeahs" and
"ooohs". He must have been in a foul mood when this was recorded because his voice is so dark and devious, which fits the general biting unhappiness that resonates through this organ heavy piece.
There's even a Led Zeppelin/Rainbow's "Stargazer" kind of moment, where everything comes together for this plodding section that has Harnell yowling and some light Middle Eastern sounding stuff going in the background. Instead of overtaking the song with that sort of essence, it's more of a subtle deviation in the flow. Again, this isn't going to change the world but what the hell, it is good and just
"Another Day Gone".
"More Than Money"'s most distinguishing trademark is that it is rather unremarkable, being a typical rocker, nothing really to see here, so unless you are craving something that won't tax the senses too much, then move along. The chorus is lacking anything that would separate it from a million others out there and while the organ and guitar trade offs are impressive works of technical ability, they don't really enhance the proceedings any. They seem kind of tacked on "just because", even if the lead out is decently done.
Joe Lynn Turner is swaggering on this one by the way, just for those keeping count.
After the delictable decadent delight of the first ballad,
"The Shadows" seems like a disappointment in comparison, especially upon first listen, but things are not as bad as they initially appear. When stacked against the gorgeous plush clouds of melodies that make up the general essence of
"Dreams", this sparse piece seems as if it was thrown together while they were on holiday just for the hell of it. However, I could tell there was potential here.
The vocals are a little on the weak side, being handled by Eric Martensson from
Eclipse (which he is quite good in that band), in his sole solo appearance on "My Resurrection". Face it, he just doesn't stack up to the likes of Edman, Turner or Harnell, who are three cream of the crop vocalists, but that's alright because Eric does an admirable job with the material he's given to work with, which doesn't fit his singing style at all. This is light on the ears and could be classifed as easy listening, with its jazz inspired pace. The orchestra is in full effect, although that effect is still used sparingly as you hear slight sounds of violin smoothing out the background and Martensson singing away. Not a lot going on, and surely not spectacular, but on repeats, this becomes a nice slower paced tune that is quite relaxing. Under the soul shaping voices of Edman or Turner, this could have been much more, since it seems more suited to one of them.
"Beggar's Lane" ushers in a return of superior song writing and spot on performances that get the adrenaline pumping again. This has a pure 80s rock sound with tons of synthesizer that you will either love or hate but there are also very bluesy backed rockin' sections not to mention an orchestra fill in for a guitar solo that seems to be ripped right from a dramatic build up from a power metal disc. The main chorus follows along the same lines as the synth stuff, Goran Edman's expressive pipes bringing to life the bombastic arena type rock. This is quite the unique song for the album and is one of the better directions
Brazen Abbot takes music-wise. It's not an angry firecracker or a bluesy 70s knockoff, but something that crosses over between
European 80s
AOR of the Scandinavian persuasion, the already mentioned arena rock thing and a bit of blues infused pomp.
Now it's time to get really serious, as the harder edged highlight of the disc reveals itself as a thunderingly creative track that screams replay and is packed to bursting with instrumentation, clever use of the orchestra and some finely crafted, highly addictive melodies. The chorus spreads this one wide open, exploding in a powerful climax. Eric can clearly be heard yowling in his supporting role, and he comes off being absolutely awesome as JLT's backup, adding some unpredictable sparks to Turner's smooth burning flame.
"Rage of Angels" is a track of many twists and turns yet barrels straightforward through it all, letting the rollercoaster ride swerve all around it with hair raising dips and dives along the way.
Truly this is the way
European hard rock should be done, and could serve as a blueprint for future generations of bands to see just how a song should be put together and performed. Also of note is singer
Joe Lynn Turner, who sounds just fantastic. If you think he might have just phoned the uptempo stuff in judging by his other two rockin' songs on the album (and really could you blame him? This guy has quite the full plate, with HTP and solo albums and what not), this one will have you thinking twice. He's brilliant and
"Rage" seems like it was created just for him.
Harnell is given yet another very metallic track that sets his voice off nicely, although personally I think Nik should have crafted him a cushy ballad so he could croon like the heavenly creature he can transform into. He still sounds like an angelic being, although instead of one bringing good tidings and beauty to the world, he's a fallen angel of vengeance, swooping down and spearing the chorus with feverish force. The pacing here on
"Lost" has a slamming crunch, and even during the supposed break in the middle that should allow the listener to catch their breath, the guitar is still a little too prevalent and rough for the desired end result to hit properly, with Harnell's voice bouncing around like an effect's prop and still drowned by the electric noodlings, but perhaps that's the point?
"Shades of Grey" is a slow, downright carefully plodding ballad that is oddly reminiscent of Yngwie Malmsteen's "I Am My Own Enemy", most likely due to Goran Edman singing on both of these pieces in a similar depressed fashion. Only "I Am" was a heart-wrenching piece with guts and a powerful message,
"Shades" is just. kind of sad, in many ways. The tinkering piano is very nicely done especially when backed by the sprays of guitar notes. Nothing fancy, and quite typical really, but there is one really strange outburst that lasts a few seconds of electric just slamming it to ten and then the orchestra kicks in and the entire song hops up a few notches on the intensity scale.
There is one annoying little quirk this one has, it has a tendency to fall into a lull and then exercise the sounds of silence for a few seconds. This completely breaks the flow of the music since it does not seem to be induced for dramatic effect, but just in random parts of the song, it all comes down to a screeching halt and it just sits there doing.well.nothing, for what seems like half of an eternity before it lurches back into gear with the same hypnotic pacing. It's definitely likeable though, Edman is always a pleasure to hear on a ballad, but it could have been handled so much better and with more efficiency. This is the second balladesque dud Nik has given the guy lately. "Eve" on "Guilty As Sin" was terrible.
The material here is a hit or miss affair. Some of these songs are absolutely smoking, such as
"Dreams",
"Rage of Angels",
"Beggar's Lane", but others are painfully lacking like
"More Than Money". The variations in quality is seemingly unnecessary, and although I do remember the days of pining away for song loaded discs when six or seven track cassettes/LPs were the norm, this disc would flow much better with a couple of songs cut out. A running time in the 50s, with a leaner list, and
"More Than Money" definitely gone as perhaps either the title track (wha? You may say.that's supposed to be, the disc's theme so to speak) or one of Harnell's anger management issues tunes would make this one killer disc. The production is slick, the performances are well done and everything pretty much gels. Fans of Rainbow,
Deep Purple and
European hard rock in general would do well to secure themselves a copy. It's worth it alone for just two of the already mentioned JLT tracks, which are absolutely smokin'.
Nik is quite the talented individual and I hope he continues on with this band and creates more albums in the future. You always know what to expect, he raised the bar so high long ago that it must be quite the feat attempting to meet or surpass it, and he really hasn't disappointed yet overall ("Guilty As Sin" has some decent stuff, so can be forgiven). "My Resurrection" is not perfect by any means, but is anticipatedly tasty.
Written by
Alanna Monday, June 6, 2005
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