by Derric Miller
— Managing Editor —
It took seven years between albums for Pleasure Maker, an unapologetic Hard Rock band from Rio De Janeiro, to get back together and create a new release, Dancin’ With Danger, their third studio album. The band is led by the stellar guitarist Alex Meister, who, whether you like it or not, is the highlight on each of the songs. While the other band members play their role, they can’t always keep up with Meister, making for a sometimes uneven musical trip.
Opening with the title track, you’ll hear some chunky, poppy riffs and the somewhat nasal vocals of Claudio Marcal, who does own a strong voice that fits this sort of Hard Rock genre well. It’s a huge anthem, the kind you’d like to hear in an arena with 10,000 other screaming along with you and easily one of the best tracks on the album.
“It Ain’t ‘Bout Love” begins with a guitar passage that could fit on TNT’s Intuition. Whether on purpose or not, any time a band gives a shout out to Ronni Le Tekro it’s a good thing. This is a more complicated composition than the title track and next time around the more songs they have like this, the better the entire album will be.
“Rock the Night Away” is a Van Halen-esque scorcher which allows Meister to prove his chops once again. A simple song, it’s all heat, bravado, and sexual energy. When you hear this song, it’s hard to pick if you like their more mid-tempo compositions or faster tracks better because the solo alone brings you back to the ’80s in a Guitar God way.
The only real venture into Hair Ballad land is “Matter of Feelings,” a haunting, poignant song where Marcal gets to steal the spotlight with his vocals. Not the best song on Dancin’ With Danger, but a smart change of pace.
“She’s Gone Too Far” is the last dance here, a thumping, bouncy track with strong group vocals. It’s basically the story of the girl on the album cover, with simple and repetitive vocals and a blazing last solo from Meister.
If you are into all that was fun in the ’80s, like Firehouse, Winger, TNT, Ratt, etc. then you’ll dig this album. With bands like Midnite City making waves over in Europe, it’d be easy to see Pleasure Maker catching fire too. If the songwriting gets a little stronger next go-round and they become more cohesive as a unit, maybe Dancin’ With Danger is their second intro to the world with bigger things to come.
Genre: Hard Rock
Band:
Alex Meister – Guitar/ vocals
Claudio Marçal – Lead Vocals
Mark Santanna – Bass
Adriano Morais – Drums/ Vocals
Tracklisting:
1. Dancin’ With Danger
2. Chains Of Love
3. It Ain’t ’bout Love
4. On The Other Side Of Midnight
5. Rock The Night Away
6. Flesh And Blood
7. Lonely Is The Night
8. Out There
9. Never Look Back
10. Matter Of Feelings
11. Runnin’ Out Of Time
12. She’s Gone Too Far
Label: Animal Records/Steelheart Records
Online:
https://www.facebook.com/pleasur3maker
Hardrock Haven rating: 
(7.8 / 10)
