Guardian was well-known as an American hard rock/metal band. They have released seven studio albums and three Spanish albums. They fizzled out with a range of compilations, live albums and bootlegs available. Their best known albums are ‘First Watch’ (1989), ‘Fire and Love’ (1991), ‘Miracle Mile’ (1993), ‘Swing, Swang, Swung’ (1994), ‘Buzz’ (1995) and ‘Bottle Rocket’ (1997). Notably, they also covered the whole of a Stryper album as ‘The Yellow and Black Attack Is Back’ (1998).

Guardian went on hiatus and it was not until 2014 that they were to return with their long-time front man Jamie Rowe and the rest of the classic nineties line-up to release ‘Almost Home’ (2014) via a kickstarter funding campaign.

One of the main difficulties for fans is actually getting their hands on a copy of the new album. But fear not, the band have assured us that you will soon be able to get a copy of the new album directly from them on July 15th 2014.

It starts with the hard rock of ‘Boom She Said’ which makes deft use of its dual guitars and bass. It leads into the old-school rock of ‘The Real Me’ with Jamie showing off his vocal melodies. There is also an emotional, slow-burner in ‘Little Things’.

Even though the band has its classic line-up, the sound has evolved. Fans may have been expecting full-throated rocking tracks, and whilst you can find them, there are far more mellow songs. There is the worshipful ‘Wonderful’ and the laid-back strumming in ‘California Rain’. Also there are some quirky interludes.

So it’s a pleasant surprise that there is a high voltage rocker in ‘King of Fools’ with shredding guitar. There is another interlude with an answerphone message from Gene Simmons before they melt your face with ‘Paranoia Kills’.

There is the emotive indie rock of ‘Price We Pay’ followed by the bluesy ‘Free’. They finish off with the acoustic guitar of ‘Almost Home’ which takes a gospel theme of travelling a twisted road towards a long-awaited destination.

Last year I reviewed Bride’s final album (Incorruptible) which has its fair share of melodic songs and interludes chopping up the proceedings. The Guardian album seems to be better constructed with great production.

Rating: 8/10

Reviewed by Peter John Willoughby

Tracks:
1. Boom She Said
2. The Real Me
3. Little Things
4. Wonderful
5. California Rain
6. Show Us What You Got (Interlude)
7. King of Fools
8. The Calling (Interlude)
9. Paranoia Kills
10. Price We Pay
11. Free
12. Requiem Calavera (Interlude)
13. Almost Home

Band members:
Jamie Rowe – Vocals
Tony Palacios – Guitar
David Bach – Bass
Karl Ney – Drums
Jamey Perrenot – Guitar

Record Label: Independent, Jan. 2014

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Lyric video below for ‘The Real Me’