by Dan Skiba
— Staff Writer —
The Ragged Saints hail from Helsinki, Finland, and were formed in 2011. Their first (and only) release, The Sound Of Breaking Free, came out in 2013 … and it’s been quiet in the band’s camp until now. A long time in the making, but the new decade brings fresh music from The Ragged Saints in the form of Sonic Playground Revisited. The band self-proclaims no desire to “reinvent the wheel”, rather they just want to play music in the style that they have always loved.
Being a “labor of love”, Sonic Playground Revisited provides much to get excited about. Regardless of the topic, the band plays an up-beat form of Melodic Hard Rock, somewhat similar to Triumph and The Damn Yankees. Markku Kuikka has the consummate Melodic Hard Rock voice. It’s raspy and passionate, yet smooth and easy on the ears … sonically Kuikka sounds like Michael Bolton back in his early Metal years. Kuikka shows he has range when the songs call for it and can pull back the reigns and communicate directly with the listener in a similar fashion to Bryan Adams (think “Summer of ’69”).
Musically, as expected from this genre, the drums and guitar work are not overly consuming, but not without balls either. Tomi Julkunen and Toni Bite man the twin-guitar wall of sound, and their playing is discernable, enjoyable, and well-produced. You won’t find a “bad track” on Sonic Playground Revisited … nope, just high quality Melodic Hard Rock from beginning to finish. And, when you’re done with a full spin of this album, afterwards you just might feel a little better about yourself and maybe the world around you too. So, check it out!
Genres: Melodic Hard Rock
Band:
Markku Kuikka – Vocals
Tomi Julkunen – Guitar
Toni Bite – Guitar
Jukka Hoffren – Bass
Mikki Kunttu – Drums
Tracklisting:
Never Gonna Let You Down
Like A Spinning Wheel
Take Me With You
Secret In Our Hearts
Just Believe
Absence Of Light
Always Forever
Pretending Diamond
Turning Cold
Supernatural
Label:
AOR Heaven
Website:
http://www.facebook.com/theraggedsaints
Hardrock Haven rating: 
(8 / 10)
