SHY — Shy (review)

SHY — Shy album cover Album · 2011 · Hard Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Stephen
It's ironic and extremely sad to see a great guitarist created an awesome album that can match his peak in the 80s and just passed away in the same year. Heart go to Steve Harris and his family for this catastrophic loss but on a positive note, SHY brought a fruitful record with newly-joined singer, Lee Small, to replace the iconic screamer, Tony Mills, who went to their competitor, TNT.

'Land of A Thousand Lies' is an incredible start. After a long intro, the track blasted into a monstrous melodic hard rock tune, the chorus is utterly mindblowing. SHY combined the classic style with heavy metal, and you can check those tracks like 'So Many Tears' or 'Pray', the merge is obvious there, and both are fantastic tunes, especially 'Pray'. Lee Small caught me by surprise with a superb singing technique, and at some point, I slightly prefer him over Mills because there's a point that you grow tired with the glass-breaking shrilling shout of Mills.

But they also crawl back to their AOR roots, 'Only For The Night' and 'Over You', for instance, are flawless 10/10 quality type of songs. The uptempo 'Live For Me' reminds me to JOURNEY's classic, 'Separate Ways' while 'Ran Out of Time' and 'Save Me' aren't as good as those three, but still a winner in my book.

However, there's a volatility in songwriting and I spot some weakness in at least four tracks. 'Breathe' is a predictable ballad, if not generic. 'Blood On The Line' isn't really interesting, 'Sanctuary' is actually pretty good but too long, and 'Union of Souls' is the weakest link. And the production isn't great, you've heard lots of other albums that beat this sound.

SHY, despite of some acceptable minus, has accomplished a difficult mission to offer an outstanding album for this great year of 2011. I rated it 85% and placed it at #12 in my final list. A solid record and a legacy of Harris to be remembered!
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