Artist: Street Legal 
   Title: Bite The Bullet
   Label: Frontiers Records

Well it's been nine years since Street Legal released their debut album 'Thunderdome' but now the band return and may I say somewhat with a vengeance.  It's all the balls to the wall Hard Rock you can handle with their new album 'Bite The Bullet', featuring once again the brothers Bjorn Boge and Oysten Boge at the helm aided and abetted by the guitars of Tore Osby and Rolf Bjorseth

The album kicks off with the hard hitting ‘Loading Up’, a track that has traces of Lizzy moulded into a more modern Hard Rock sound that is quite refreshing to the ear.  It's still classic rock but there’s something else that makes you sit up and take notice.  Maybe it’s the production or the bands various influences all coming together on one highly charged album, I don't know but whatever it is it really works.

The band continue their Classic Hard Rock vibe with the superb ‘Somebody Up There Likes Me’, a real sing-a-long tracks with some quite intricate licks in between the choruses courtesy of Tore Osby and Rolf Bjorseth both adding to the brothers Boge’s overall sound.

That Thin Lizzy influence is plain to hear on tracks like ‘Unconditional Love’, but the band really expand the heavy driven bass vibe on my favourite track ‘Warriors Of Genghis Khan’, a thumping rock that Lynnott would have been proud of.

Then we go all 'Parisian Walkways' with ‘Shadows In My Heart’, a slow burning ballad that shows the band have a more mellow side, but this only acts as short interlude between the rockers like the title track ‘Bite The Bullet’ and ‘Starship Trooper’, both of which help to keep that Hard Rock vibe going.

It's all bass tones once more with ‘Trapped’ and the epic progressive feel of the instrumental ‘The Battle Of Kringen’, before the surprise track of the album yet another cover of ‘Maniac’.  First it was Sergeant Fury then it was Firewind, what is it with this track and again why does it work so well when Metal and Rock bands cover it?

The album closes in style with the guitar laden ‘Silent Tear’ which rounds off an quite eclectic mix all in the name of revamping Hard Rock and if your willing to give it a listen then take it from me you won't be disappointed.

Tracklisting:

1. Loading Up
2. Somebody Up There Likes Me
3. Unconditional Love
4. Warriors Of Genghis Khan
5. Shadow In My Heart
6. Bite The Bullet
7. Starship Trooper
8. Trapped
9. The Battle Of Kringen
10. Maniac
11. Silent Tear

 

                  

 

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