It took a long time for “Epic Obsession” to see the light of day. Exactly nine years we waited for Burning Rain to finish and release, via Frontiers Records, their third album, after the success in Japan and the UK of their first two albuns, “Burning Rain” (1999) and “Pleasure To Burn” (2000) .
During this period, Doug was working alongside Dio and Whitesnake as a member of the band since 2003, including dividing the songwriting process with David Coverdale in two great albums of new material, “Good to Be Bad” (2008) and Forevermore ( 2011).
Now back to the scene, alongside with Doug Aldrich, the band also features Keith St. John on vocals (ex Medicine Wheel, Montrose), Sean McNabb (Dokken, Quiet Riot) on bass and backing vocals and Matt Starr (Ace Frehley Band) on drums.
“Epic Obsession” is a delightful journey to the very best of Hard Rock with good catchy hard blues riffs and raw guitars being played mercilessly by Doug a very versatile and talented musician who leaves his mark doesn’t matter the band he’s playing with, whether it’s Whitesnake, Dio or Burning Rain.
The powerful voice of Keith St John is the perfect counterpoint to the guitar virtuoso Aldrich and they strike hard on tracks like “Sweet Little Thing Baby” and “Ride The Monkey.”
The album also has room for softness and ballads like “Heaven Gets Me By”, “Our Time Is Gonna Come” and “When Can I Believe In Love” change the hardness for some melodic subtlety.
And the surprises don’t stop here, we have a very interesting version of “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin, with Jimmy Page’s very influencial impact on Doug Aldrich and one of his greatest musical references.
Already available on the web, the single “My Lust Your Fate” is one of the most complete examples of a great-sounding hard rock band.
And closing the record, a killer acoustic version of “Heaven Gets Me By” is for me, the best track on the disc. “Epic Obsession” is the perfect album for those who love hard rock and has several special guests, including drummers Brian Tichy and Jimmy D’Anda. For me, it comes out ahead in any list of albums of the year and probably should also set up easy on any serious list of the best of the Hard Rock for the past 10 years.@revistaeletricidade
“Epic Obsession” Tracklisting:
1. Sweet Little Baby Thing
2. The Cure
3. Till You Die
4. Heaven Gets Me By
5. Pray Out Loud
6. Our Time Is Gonna Come
7. Too Hard To Break
8. My Lust Your Fate
9. Made For Your Heart
10. Ride The Monkey
11. Out In The Cold Again
11. When Can I Believe In Love
12. Kashmir (Led Zeppelin Cover)
13. Heaven Gets Me By (Acoustic Version)
Check the official clip for “My Lust Your Fate”: