 PRIDE
OF LIONS
The Roaring of Dreams
Frontiers Records 2007
www.aprideoflions.com
What’s the 4-1-1?
Jim Peterik and Toby Hitchcock return for another round of the hottest
helpings of prime melodic rock. The 3rd full-length studio album follows
up the live CD/DVD release the group released last year.
Genre
Rock / Melodic Rock / Pop
The Good
The guitar work from Jim Peterik and Mike Aquino on this album is outstanding. “Book
Of Life”, “Heaven On Earth”, and defying “Defying
Gravity” are but a few of the tracks on The Roaring Of Dreams where
there are a bevy of guitar riffs and hooks that make the listener say “Wow!”“Language Of The Heart” is a superb track with a 1980’s throwback
keyboard sound. The lyrical content is outstanding, a statement that can be said
about a lot of the songs on the disc. The ballads on the disc aren’t bad
at all. “Love’s Eternal Flame” is decent, while “Faithful
Heart” comes off as one of the best songs on the disc. The closing track “Turnaround” features
a good mid to up tempo style. The vocals are really tight, and feature a male/female
vocal interplay during the track as well.
As always, the harder rocking songs end up being my favorites. The opener, “Heaven
On Earth” is quite lively and the chorus just slams musically. The song
begins with a musical fade in and rises in intensity as the track progresses.
The best two songs on the album are “Defying Gravity” and “Let
Me Let You Go”. The former is my hot track choice. It’s a fast
moving rocker that features the aforementioned thrilling guitar work. The latter
combines
magnificently both musically and lyrically. Toby Hitchcock is the primary vocalist
on each of these two songs and part of the reason these two songs stand out
is because of the added edginess to his vocals.
The Bad
I didn’t care for the overproduced effects on the vocals in the opening
of “Book Of Life” or “Secret Of The Way” (The song
itself was rather mediocre as well).
The title track is an up tempo number that really didn’t do much of anything
for me. It serves as a great album title, but the same can’t be said for
the actual song itself.
The flow of the chorus on “Book Of Life” was a bit disjointed.
The French horn on “Tall Ships” served only distracts from not enhances
the song. The production tricks on the chorus of the song weren’t to my
liking as well.
The Verdict
This album amply demonstrates why you have to listen to a CD more than 1
time when doing a review. If I had reviewed The Roaring Of Dreams after
just one spin of the disc, it would’ve been a negative review. I
really didn’t get into the reversion of the band’s sound back
to their first disc until I had listened a few times. Toby Hitchcock has
an amazing vocal ability and Jim Peterik is quite possibly the best all
around talent in the melodic rock genre today. What comes from this album,
despite my listing of certain misgivings, is more proof that Pride Of Lions
is the tops in their field. They turn out disc after disc of amazing songs
and if you consider yourself a fan of any melodic rock bands, this is the
one group you should have in your collection!
Did You Know?
The song “Faithful Heart” was originally written in 1986 and
was planned to be the main ballad on the Survivor CD When Seconds Count.
Twenty years and a rewrite later, it makes it album debut.
Jim Peterik’s late brother in law Andy Moulik was the inspiration behind “Heaven
On Earth” and “Tall Ships.”
Rating:  out
of 5
Related Reviews:
Pride of Lions - Live in Belgium CD/DVD
Jim Peterik - Above the Storm
Pride of Lions - The Destiny Stone
.38 Special - Drivetrain
--Jay Roberts
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