It is always a pleasant surprise when a German band derives from the
Helloween style and does not feature a high-pitched singer.
Affair's two main assets are singer Peter Dewint and guitarist Bobby Altvater. Peter Dewint does a great job handling the vocals. His vocals are very powerful and along with the great guitar sound
Affair have made a Hard Rocking album with a raw edge
Affair is actually an "old" band existing since 1987. However, it took
Affair 10 years to release their first album due to line-up trouble. "No Substitute" is only the second album from the German based band.
Affair are very European sounding. Mastermind and guitarist Bobby Altvater has produced the album in his own Sky Studios. Some of the tracks a have a pompous sound caused by the full backing vocals giving the songs more strength.
Overall the compositions are good, but the album looses some intensity because a few songs are lacking the final touch to become really great. Songs like
Magic Radio and
Back in the Race are a bit too ordinary. Apropos race - Using a metaphor you can describe
Affair's music like a German Volkswagen car. It is very reliable, good quality and you know what you get. However, you would rather be driving a Formula 1 car.
Recommendable tracks are
No Substitute, which is a great in your face Rocker. The irresistible song
Life on a Wire has great crunchy rhythm guitar. The song has a groovy drive with Bobby Altvater playing some great guitar spiced with some artificial harmonics. The mid-tempo rocker
Game of Love and
Get Going are also among the album highlights.
All songs need to contain the same high class as the previous mentioned if
Affair wants to join the Formula 1 league.
Affair need to "put the pedal to the metal" and if they keep progressing
Affair will bring us a killer album next time. They have the potential.
All in all a good album, which is essential for all fans of European Hard Rock.
Written by
Michael Friday, October 25, 2002
Show all reviews by MichaelRatingsMichael: 6.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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