Combine band members with impressive resumes including the likes of Dokken and Stryper and have them play some metal in the vein of that of the late 80’s and you have Faithsedge with their third album Restoration.
Not often does a band come together with such a wide array of experience as that assembled for the third Faithsedge album. Faithsedge started in 2011 in Southern California as the brainchild of singer/songwriter Giancarlo Floridia, who has worked with producers including Juan Crocier (Ratt), Mike Tilanca (Bowie, Foreigner), and Fabrizio Grossi (Steve Vai, Alice Cooper). Joining Floridia this time is Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline) on keyboards and production, Alex De Rosso (Dokken) on guitar, Tim Gaines (Stryper) on bass and Matt Starr (Ace Frehley) on drums.
As one might imagine given the personnel, this is late 80’s metal along the lines of all the bands the various members have been in and played for. “Never a Day” starts out with one of those characteristic lone guitar riffs as so many songs from the era did, but quickly shifts into a more modern sound for the rest of the song and from a production standpoint, the sound is very full with all the instruments clear and punch, but almost seeming a bit compressed (although that could be my bad ears). Keyboards play a bit more of a role in the sound than I was prepared for but, alas, there is that scorching guitar solo everyone was hoping for and even a section for Tim Gaines on bass to shine.
“Jennifer” continues with the anthemic metal in all its glory, complete with a chorus and guitar break that will bring to mind other songs from the past, a trend I heard also in the chorus for “Faith and Chris” which very surprisingly brought up memories of George Michael and “I’m Never Gonna Dance Again”. With songs like “Her Way Back”, “Regret at All”, “Taking Our Lives” and “This is Everything” you have arena metal/hard rock at its finest. The vocals are strong, choruses soaring, drums and bass keeping things moving and the ripping guitar solos complete the soundscape.
The band takes a much harder, darker turn on “This War”, which features a great opening section of driving, intermittent guitar riff carried along by a thumping bass line and pounding drum beat. This change in tone and harder edge makes this most interesting track on the album for me and also seems to have the most modern feel to it. For those looking for the inevitable power ballad, those are here as well in “Faith and Chris” and “Let You Breathe”, both songs demonstrating not only the strong vocals of Giancarlo Floridia but also some tasteful guitar work by Alex De Rosso.
Fans of late 80’s metal will certainly find a lot to like on Restoration as it does tick off all the boxes in terms of what one would hear on the best albums of that era. Even with that, however, Faithsedge manage to bring these songs into the modern era.
Rating: 8/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist:
01. Never a Day
02. Jennifer
03. You Cannot Give Up
04. Faith and Chris
05. Her Way Back
06. Regret at All
07. This War
08. Taking our Lives
09. Let You Breathe
10. This is Everything
Band Members:
Giancarlo Floridia – Vocals /Guitar
Alex De Rosso – Lead Guitar
Tim Gaines – Bass
Matt Starr – Drums
Alessandro Del Vecchio – Keyboards
Albums:
“Faithsedge” (2011)
“The Answer of Insanity” (2014)
“Restoration” (2016)
Record Label: Scarlet Records, June 2016
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
Video for ‘Faith and Chris’
Lyric video for ‘Never a Day’