Gotthard – Domino Effect (Release Year – 2007)
Swiss rockers Gotthard return with their 8th studio album, Domino Effect. This is an excellent follow up to their 2005 disc, Lip Service, and has already hit #1 in Switzerland.
No one can accuse Gotthard of not giving you a release worth your money. Domino Effect has 14 songs and a bonus track, for almost a full hour of music.
This disc starts killing me almost immediately. This first two tracks, Master of Illusion and Gone Too Far are melodic, heavy rockers in the vein of the Scorpions. Singer Steve Lee, has a killer voice. He sometimes reminds me of Firehouse’s C.J. Snare, but these tunes are far heavier than anything Firehouse has ever done.
Domino Effect starts off with a riff that sounds like it came from Rob Zombie’s Thunderkiss ’69, but this song has a life all its own. It is a great song with a killer groove, and is extremely catchy.
Gotthard shows that they can slow it down with the best of them. The track Falling sounds like it could have been on a Steve Perry era Journey record. Once again, another excellent track.
I must admit that the first time that I listened to The Call, I didn’t like it much. It was maybe a little too mellow. Then I watched the following video, and did a complete 180° on my opinion.
This could be a huge multi-crossover hit in the United States, if any radio stations had the balls to play it.After the last two mid tempo numbers, Gotthard goes back to rocking with The Oscar Goes to You. This is another track that has a huge sound with radio possibility ala Bon Jovi. It is another highly enjoyable melodic rocker.
After listening to The Cruiser (Judgement Day), I am amazed how freaking great this CD is. Leo Leoni and Freddy Scherer sound so damn cool on this track.
Heal Me has all of the great catchy heavy elements that 8o’s hard rock fans are going to love. The bass on this track by Marc Lynn, reminds me a bunch of Nikki Sixx in styling. The guitars on this track are great as well.
Letter to a Friend slows the pace back down again, but only temporarily, as this track busts out into a multi tempo number that has HIT written all over it. This song has elements that reminds me quite a bit of the Scorpions. Great Stuff!
Tomorrow’s Just Begun is an acoustic based power ballad that really delivers the goods. This is another track with multi-crossover hit potential.
Come Alive has a funky drum and bass groove, that could actually be a pop/rock radio hit. This track kind of reminds me of a cross between Bon Jovi and Def Leppard.
The keyboards of Bad to the Bone have a sound the reminds a little of Deep Purple, but quite frankly, this song is closer to the style of Slippery When Wet era Bon Jovi. Steve Lee uses those same vocoder effects from Living on a Prayer. Cool Stuff!
At this point, the disc could have ended and I would have been extremely happy with the content. The final three tracks are solid though, and I am glad they are here.
Now is a hard rocking number that is Bon Jovi-esque.
Something about Where is the Love When It’s Gone had the music feel of a Jon Mellancamp track, with the addition of a heavier bass track. This track is unlike anything else on this disc.
The bonus track, Can’t Be the Real Thing is not a throw in at all. It is an upbeat heavy number, that is quite catchy. What a great track to close out this disc!
I have listened and reviewed quite a few new releases in 2007, and none of them represent that great 80’s style hard rock sound as well as Gotthard’s Domino Effect. This disc kicks major ass, and is essential to every hard rock fan on the planet. It is mind boggling how few of people in the United States knows about this band. If there is any disc that will finally put them on the map here, Domino Effect would be the one.
You can pick this one up today from Impulse Music.com You can find out more about Gotthard at their website here.
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Master of Illusion
- Gone Too Far
- Domino Effect
- Falling
- The Call
- The Oscar Goes to You
- The Cruiser (Judgement Day)
- Heal Me
- Letter To a Friend
- Tomorrow’s Just Begun
- Come Alive
- Bad to the Bone
- Now
- Where is the Love When It’s Gone
- Can’t Be the Real Thing (Bonus Track)
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