Khymera - The Greatest Wonder
|
Published February 21 2008
|
Genre |
AOR/Hard Rock |
Dennis Ward
|
Vocals
|
Tracks |
13 |
Tommy Ermolli
|
Guitar
|
Runningtime |
53 Min. |
-
|
Guitar
|
Label |
Frontiers
Records |
Dennis Ward
|
Bass
|
Release |
22 Feb. 2008 |
Dario Ciccioni
|
Drums
|
Country |
Italy/USA |
Daniele Liverani
|
Keyboard
|
Similar artists |
FM, Journey,
House Of Lords, Sunstorm |
|
Khymera was formed as a studio project by Italian multi-instrumentalist
Daniel Liverani (Genius, Empty Tremor) and on their self-titled debut
album, released in 2003, no other than renowned vocalist Steve Walsh
(Kansas) was part of the line-up. On the second album however he was
replaced by Pink Cream 69 bassist and producer Dennis Ward and he remains
now when it's time for Khymera's third album. Neither Daniele Liverani
nor Dennis Ward are the composers on this record, it's in fact the British
twin brothers Tom and James Martin (House Of Lords, Ted Poley) that
solely are responsible for the song writing here, and that's a task
well done I must say.
The Greatest Wonder is nothing but a passionate glance
at melodic hard rock and AOR of the eighties. Khymera have not tried
to invent the wheel again and I am convinced they have absolutely no
intentions of doing so either. This is exactly how it used to sound
way back then without any attempts of modernization whatsoever. A fact
that appeals a great deal to me and makes me think of the Joe Lynn Turner
fronted Sunstorm's brilliant album from 2006. A great sounding record
is nothing without good song writing however but The Greatest Wonder
is packed with catchy, soaring and addictive melodies, just like the
genre demands. Borderline for instance sticks like glue at once and
if we were living in the eighties this would have been a minor hit.
Burn Out with its beautiful and melancholic melodies is another big
favourite of mine. The best song however is Stay Forever with a verse
that almost sounds like a shameless theft from FM (Indiscreet is probably
the best AOR album ever, buy if you haven't got it!), and a chorus that
you can't get rid of.
Khymera has with this record filled an empty space inside
of me since I listened a lot to this kind of music in my teens but rarely
nowadays. The Greatest Wonder isn't maybe solid from start to finish
since there are a couple of fillers here and there but the lion part
of the album just leaves me with a big smile on my face. This record
isn't groundbreaking at all, but still a must buy for everyone with
a soft spot for melodic hard rock and AOR with strong melodies.
Performance
|
Originality
|
Production
|
Vocals
|
Songwriting
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Summary
|
|