Stephen After the mighty debut, LOVEBLAST reached a more mature phase with this new EP. Songwriting grows bigger and the evolution of their sound is quite obvious with many influences adapted from the modern hard rock territory to the 80s hard rock style. Unlike the debut that's lush of melodic rock hooks that shows their 'teenage' side, here you'll find songs like 'Wild Forever' wrapped with heavy-and-furious riffs or the title track which sounds very anthemic and probably will bang the arena floors hard.

Although I still think they can't abandon the fun part of bringing in 'teeny' stuff like 'When We Were Young' that reminds me of couple pop/punk hits from younger modern bands. If they manage to create a good combination of heavy metal, ballads, and catchy pop-rock setlist, I bet the full-studio album will have the strength to top their debut.

Hats off also to the production which deserve a five-stars rating, and a strong rhythm section helps propelled this album even higher. Despite my fondness of the debut and thought that it's still a better album, 'Hard Liquor In Big Glasses' can be a proof that LOVEBLAST is heading in the right direction and let's just hope the next album will be a winner.

Stephen Here I raise a glass of beer to an unexpected blistering release of an unsigned band, Loveblast. Their eponymous debut which comprised of eleven high-quality glam-fueled tracks is very amusing and emotionally provoking, especially if you like classic bands such as Motley Crue, Scorpions, or Poison. Without being whole fully trapped in a nostalgic atmosphere, Loveblast decided to up the ante with some fresh modern element and they managed to pull it out nicely.

"Harder n Faster" is a huge opener. By the moment you hear the "knokk em dead" punctual shout, you know this is an ode to Motley Crue. The riffs are heavily inspired by that band and if Vince Neil sang this one, you probably will think this is a lost track from "Shout" era. "Headspin" reminds me a lot of Scorpions style, they put up a nice harmony and great chorus as well. "Got A Feeling" and "Far Too Long" are commercial bliss, too modern for some maybe, I felt the arrangement is kinda similar to Simple Plan/Green Day type of stuff, could be a shiny summer ride soundtrack to a teenage flick.

The thing that I love most here is the twin harmonic guitarworks of Durbin/Spadavecchia, reminiscent of the great duo of Sweet/Fox from Stryper. One thing that been bugging me is that Durbin's vocal is a bit boy-ish and less hard rocking, I can see him fronting bands like SR-71, Every Avenue, or even Green Day easily. On the positive side, the register control handled perfectly and he's able to swing swiftly from the soothing ballad of "Lonely Winter", to the sleazy slap of "Things That Bites", and even the heavy metal stuff of "Out For Blood".

Loveblast definitely deserved a big contract from the major label, they got the quality to succeed, if only this was released in 1986, they probably can score big time. The production level is also very smooth and nice. For an indie release, this is a satisfying result. I wish them the best and lookin' forward to their next release. A big recommendation for fans of guitar-based melodic hard rock/glam metal!