Stephen
All I Know came from the land of beer and waffles, Belgium, and until I heard 'Vanity Kills', I never even heard anything melodic blooming out from that country, so at first, my expectation is only as high as the wild-grown bushes at my neighbor's backyard, but after struck hard with dazzling hits after hits from the start to the very end, I need to raise a glass of Stella Artois for that achievement, and the world definitely owes a thank you to Andrew from MelodicRock.com to allow them to be heard all over the earth.
"All Night Long" blows with sweeping riffs in a fast-paced fashion, very melodic and vintage sounding, packed with happy vibe and would be a big lie if this track doesn't catch your attention. "Bad Boy" borrows the same pattern, another standout track, quite short but strong enough to pump some adrenaline up. "Turn Back Time" has huge guitar licks and close to Slash's sound when he rip his Les Paul's off on some GNR classics. "Rain", is the first single and was mixed by the legendary Beau Hill, but somehow this track isn't as great as the others, say like the power-poppish "Into Your Heart" or the anthemic "I Wanna Rock You".
"Asphyxia" is unbelievably awesome, a memorable power ballad that even after couple of hours, you can hear the notes still hanging on your brain vividly, unfortunately the other acoustic ballad, "Hope And Dreams", didn't do much for me. "Sweet 17" and "Teenage Queen" are very youthful, energetic, and perhaps can be a soundtrack to the high school prom award, but still the hooks aren't shallow and the boys did know how to wrap up a nice and tight arrangement.
"Vanity Kills" was stuffed with many heart-pleasing tunes, a high value record especially for fans of Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, or Poison, that most of the songs were emphasized in harmonies and melodies, and at the same time, they can sound so green and young like what you heard in bands like The Click Five or Every Avenue. Time will help them evolve to a better musician in the future, but this debut is strong enough to claim a longer spot in my car's player.