Revolution Saints – ‘Rise’ (Frontiers Music)

By DJ Monk

For those unfamiliar with this particular brand of Saints (and, if you’re not, where have you been hiding for the past five years?), the project is the brainchild of Frontiers Records’ boss Serafino Perugino – who not only has a knack for putting together such “superstar” combos (to varying degrees of success, it has to be admitted) but also, it could be argued, has been almost single-handedly responsible for re-establishing AOR and melodic rock in general on the musical map.Revolution Saints (for those who are unfamiliar with the name) brings together three of the most respected musicians in the field: drummer Deen Castronovo from Journey and more latterly The Dead Daisies, Night Ranger frontman Jack Blades and Castronovo’s TDD bandmate and all round busy guy, guitarist Doug Aldrich. The main difference is that this particular project has enabled Castronovo to step out from behind his kit and take over, in partnership with Blades, lead vocal duties.

When I reviewed the Saints’ self-titled debut album back in 2015, there was one thought that kept spinning, round and round and round, in my head… and that it was the album Journey should have recorded after ‘Raised On Radio’. It was a comparison aided, not in small part, by Castronovo’s uncanny vocal resemblance to his former bandmate Steve Perry, and it left me wondering why, although he had contributed some vocals to some of Journey’s songs, the drummer was not given the lead role on a permanent basis after Perry’s departure, instead of the band ultimately disappearing down the karaoke singer route (but, that’s a debate for another day).

Their last album, 2017’s ‘Light In The Dark’, somehow managed to pass me by, so ‘Rise’ is something of a re-acquaintance for me. And the first impression is one of not much has changed in the intervening period. Opener, and lead single, ‘When The Heartache Has Gone’, very much reflects the AOR heritage of both Castronovo and Blades, its crunching guitar riff driving it along at a furious pace while Deen’s vocal most definitely echoes Journey at the height of their powers, while the song is defiantly taken to the next level by Aldrich’s searing guitar work, which is as impressive as it always is, no matter what he turns his hand to. It’s a very promising start.

Things progress more or less as expected as the trio ease back, ever so slightly, on the pedal with new single, ‘Price We Pay’; once again it has classic AOR written all over it and oozing from every groove: the first song to see Blades and Castronovo on dual lead vocals, it flows with ease, mixing the harmonic vocals with a catchier than Coronavirus hook and another stunning workout from Aldrich, which gives you the feeling that, given his amazing workload, he may well have laid most of his parts down live in the studio.

To dismiss the Revolution Saints as a Journey “copycat” band, as some other critics of done, is to do both the band and the album a severe dis-service. Yes, that pedigree is very much to the fore, but so is Blades’ Night Ranger and, especially, Damn Yankees heritage, while Aldrich’s own identity is very clearly stamped over every note, chord and riff. But there are also other influences at play: ‘Closer’, for example, is ripped from the Tyketto playbook, to the extent that I was looking for a Danny Vaughn co-writing credit. It’s the second of the album’s big power ballads – which leads me neatly to my only criticism of this opus, and that is the closing track… They say that you should go out in a blaze of glory, but ‘Rise’ closes out with much more of a whimper than a bang, as ‘Eyes Of A Child’ is just a complete downer: personally, they would have been better sticking it just before either ‘Million Miles’ or ‘Win Or Lose’ to give a better balance to the end of the album, but, as it is, it is an extremely disappointing way to round off an otherwise very impressive album, which more or less ticks every box – but, then, you would expect nothing less from three artists of this calibre and quality.

‘Rise’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.

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