by Dan Skiba
— Columnist —
There’s often a collective initial adrenaline rush raging through Metal fans when they hear about their studded heroes looking to form together into a Supergroup. Unfortunately, more often than not an album released by a Supergroup features a couple good songs, but the rest of the album falls flat, if not uninspired. But, every now and then solid musicians with diverse (if not complementary) backgrounds and writing/playing styles get together and something “special” happens. The Metal deities shine down upon them, and the chemistry comes together just right … and the end product is a unique blend that may very well be very different than what each Supergroup member would normally knock out on their own. A few bands that certainly meet that criteria are the Damn Yankees and (more recently) Chickenfoot.
It’s now time to add another success story to the Supergroup concept, and that conglomeration is called A New Revenge. With Ripper Owens (Judas Priest, Iced Earth) manning the mic, Keri Kelli (Alice Cooper, Vince Neil) wielding the axe, James Kottak (Scorpions) pounding the drums, and Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne) filling in the gaps on bass, the talent is certainly there along with the diverse backgrounds. What you get is well-thought out and written Melodic Metal with more hooks than Jeremy Wade’s tackle box and a truly impressive collection of catchy choruses that will have you singing along during the very first spin.
Enemies & Lovers topically deals with life’s disappointments, struggles, and revenge … but somehow the sky brightens and there is a ray of hope once the chorus kicks in for each song. The best example of this may be the track “Glorious,” which is curiously similar at times to “Boys Of Summer” by Don Henley … it’s melancholy and reflective, but when you hear Ripper singing the oh so simple 1-word chorus “Glorious …” the mood changes almost instantaneously.
The most unique song on the album award goes to “Only The Pretty Ones.” Perhaps Keri Kelli had some influence here since the opening sounds like a lost track from the Alice Cooper classic Welcome To My Nightmare, with his alter ego Stephen appearing at the microphone for an encore presentation. It’s eerie and offbeat … but then like most of the other songs on Enemies & Lovers everything takes a hard left when you get to a game-changing melodic chorus that does a masterful job of changing the mood.
Overall, Enemies & Lovers is a solid Melodic Metal album that successfully blends the talents of four seasoned Metal veterans in a way that is often hoped for when Supergroups form … but is seldom achieved. One of the better albums thus far of 2019 … check it out!
Genre: Melodic Metal
Band:
Ripper Owens – Vocals
Keri Kelli – Guitar
James Kottak – Drums
Rudy Sarzo – Bass
Tracklisting:
The Distance Between
The Way
Never Let You Go
Glorious
The Eyes
Fallen
Only The Pretty Ones
Enemies & Lovers
Here’s To Us
Scars
Killing You
Label: Golden Robot Records
Online: http://www.anewrevenge.com
Hardrock Haven rating: 
(8.5 / 10)
