Time Signature New horizon...

Genre: hard rock

I have never heard The Answer before, so I do not know if there is significance to the tile "New Horizon"; maybe it signals a change of musical direction. I do not know. What I do know is that on "New Horizon", the Irish band delivers solid hard rock.

Drawing on various types of hard rock, but with a focus on 70s hard rock, The Answer delivers music which is focussed enough not to be confisung, still varies enough not to be boring. The opening track, which the album is named for, has a slightly grungy feel to it and builds on some heavy riffage. While heavier, the dark ballad 'Speak Now' also has some grungy elements. In contrast 'Leave with Nothin'' is a funky and groovy affair with a touch of Led Zeppelin-influence. Drawin on the groove, 'Spectacular' couples the groovy with a 90s alternative rock sensibility. The suicidal 'Baby Kill Me' is another groovy track with funky overtone and a hint of blues rock, which also applies to 'Scream a Louder Love'. Moving into heavier territory, 'Concrete' and 'Burn You Down' combine an influence from Rage Against the Machine with 70s hard rock. As it happens those two tracks are my favorite traks of the album. There are also a couple of 90s rock ballads and some other hard rockers on the album.

As a whole, listening to the album is a positive experience. In particular the groovy elements are one of the attraction points of the album, aong with the twangy production. The 90s rock elements do not appeal to me that much (except those that are more in the vein of RATM), but that's just a matter of taste. There sems to be a ubiquituous influence from Led Zeppeling on the labum, although influences from RATM, Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, and generic grunge-infused 90s hard rock may also be detected on the album.

Fans of grovy hard rock should definitely check this riff-fest out. The album should also appeal to those who enjoyed the 90s hard rock scene.

Stephen The Answer has been my favorite since they're introduced heavily in Classic Rock Magazine back in 2006. Their first album, 'Rise', is superb, while the second album, even though weaker, is still a very good album, but unfortunately this third one is a chaos. 'Revival', sounds like a title that should throw them back to form, but instead it's more like an 180 degrees wrong turn for the band.

The classic rock touch with slightly blues feel is still there, but the consistently strong tracks seem to have vanished. I seriously can only find 3 great tracks here. 'Use Me', a furious riffs with a strong hard rock arrangement; 'Nowhere Freeway', a radio friendly track with a stunning duet with Lynne Jackaman; and another commercial feel tune, 'Can't Remember, Can't Forget'. 3 more good tracks, but not really that great are 'Caught On The Riverbed' (and gloomed with an awfully average chorus this one!), 'One More Revival', and the closing ballad, 'Lights Are Down'.

Now I don't understand how come they pick 'Vida (I Want You)' as the leading single as it's clearly no sign of great composition at all in it. 'Waste Your Tears' is a wasted effort, 'Tornado' started good but they fucked it up on the chorus; and 'Destroy Me', is simply just another garbage. This album really drove me mad because it's extremely far from The Answer's true potential and because I love this band. If they didn't have any improvement in the fourth album, I will need to think twice to buy their albums ever again. Avoid this one and intended for hardcore fans or completist only!