Shy | Shy

by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer

Long running British melodic rock band Shy is back with a new album after a six-year absence that saw founding vocalist Tony Mills departing to join the ranks of TNT. Shy has gone without Mills’s services once before (with 1994’s ill-received Welcome to the Madhouse), but for a lot of fans Shy’s signature sound and Mills’s instantly recognizable voice are inextricably linked. You can’t blame the band for wanting to move forward and with a new singer – former Surveillance frontman Lee Small – on board, Shy is ready to turn the page.

With its stark black cover and simple title – Shy – the band’s tenth studio album finds the band getting back to basics. Despite some flirtations with a more metallic sound and the Hollywod hair metal sound back in the ‘80s, Shy’s strength was always in their more polished melodic rock approach, and that’s where this new album shines. Shy sounds a lot like recent albums by fellow NWOBHM veterans turned melodic rockers Praying Mantis. It has fantastic melodies throughout, and a great mix of punchy rockers and soulful, tasteful love songs that never get too wimpy. The contrast between the hard rocking “Blood on the Line” and the emotional “Only for the Night” is stark, but both songs perfectly reflect the new and improved Shy sound.

In terms of vocals, Shy could have gone the easy route and brought in another high-octave singer to try and replicate Mills’s style, but having a vocalist with a deeper register is one more way the band is turning the page. Small’s voice is anything but. He has a fantastic range that conveys both power and warmth, bringing to mind Jimi Jamison, Steve Overland and Toby Hitchcock.

With this album, Shy proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is life after Tony Mills. Shy is a terrific melodic rock album from start to finish, and it’s one that will more than satisfy the band’s existing fan base while also appealing to fans of high-quality melodic rock bands like FM, Praying Mantis, Pride of Lions and Work of Art.

Genre: Melodic Rock

Band:
Lee Small (v)
Steve Harris (g)
Roy Davis (b)
Joe Basketts (k)
Bob Richards (d)

Track Listing:
1. Land of a Thousand Lies
2. So Many Tears
3. Ran out of Time
4. Breathe
5. Blood on the Line
6. Pray
7. Only for the Night
8. Live for Me
9. Over You
10. Sanctuary
11. Save Me
12. Union of Souls

Website: www.shyonline.co.uk

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5/10

Tony Mills

by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

TNT returns with the release of A Farewell To Arms, their third album with the current lineup. Featuring music that is more hard edged than on the last few albums, you’ll have to go all the way back to 1984′s Knights Of The New Thunder to find the band so heavy.

Tony Mills checked in with Hardrock Haven to discuss the new CD, A Farewell to Arms, his recent heart attack and what it is like working with legendary guitarist Ronni le Tekro.

Online: TNT Official Website

(If the embedded player doesn’t populate, click here to stream the interview in a stand alone player.)

TNT A Farewell to Arms

by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

Over the course of the last two TNT studio albums with singer Tony Mills — The New Territory and Atlantis — TNT was on the precipice of a literal “farewell to arms.” Guitar God Ronni Le Tekro let his freak flag fly on those two albums, becoming more artsy and quirky than heavy, and the fans were not forgiving. Unfairly or not, Mills took a lot of the heat as well; perhaps the fans did not understand that when Tony Harnell left the group, Le Tekro held most of the sway when it came to songwriting.

A Farewell to Arms was the title Le Tekro created when Mills suffered a heart attack; the band feared this would be the last TNT release, perhaps ever. Luckily for music in general, Mills bounced back and is in good health; the band is even calling the new release Engine in Scandinavia. That too is apropos, because TNT has restarted their engines and released the best music you’ve heard from them since My Religion.

The opener, “Engine,” is all balls out, with Le Tekro churning out a heavy duty riff. The song suddenly bounces into a chugging racer, happy as hell with lines like “Let the sun shine in my heart! I hear my favorite song but the radio isn’t on …” A tad repetitive but groovy enough for any stripper to disrobe to, “Engine” is the perfect intro to the rest of the release.

“Ship in the Night” owns that classic TNT riffage, a sound familiar yet new. Mills’ vocals soar here, almost eerily stunning he’s so good. This may remind you a bit off of something on Intuition, all pomp and melody and perfection.

It seems the band is back to having fun; maybe it took them three releases together to find a common plain. Regardless, “Take It Like a Man … Woman” is hilarious. It’s basically just a song about sex, and a lot of it. Played at a breakneck pace but still featuring those mammoth harmonies fans have nearly come to take for granted, you’ll go back to it again and again. The most amazing piece of this composition is Le Tekro’s solo. The sheer chaos he creates, the sounds he forces his axe to emit … no one else can do what he can do. Why he isn’t always near the top of the “Greatest Guitar Players” list in whatever magazine is a travesty.

If you were a fan of China Blue, which featured Mills as the singer, then “Don’t Misunderstand Me” will definitely be one of your favorites. The track opens with the chorus, and it’s one the most AOR-leaning songs on the album. However you define what a hit song is today, well, “Don’t Misunderstand Me” is that definition.

In the initial press releases announcing the new album, TNT kept calling it a return to the past, to how heavy they were on Knights of the New Thunder. They don’t disappoint, especially on the title track. “A Farewell to Arms” is a frantic, passionate track with Mills using his effortless higher range and Le Tekro’s rhythms off the chart. After giving the new album a few spins, you will be unable to pick a favorite track, because all of the songs here are so damn good.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get better, then you hear “Someone Else.” The odd paced fills on the drums from Diesel Dahl perfectly match the lyrics, with Mills singing lines like “And if you were someone else, then I’d probably never even be myself.”

TNT also re-recorded the classic anthem “Harley Davidson,” and although the purists will argue against it, the track is exponentially better with Mills manning the mic. It just is …

A Farewell to Arms is, in essence, far stronger than even their biggest fans could have hoped for. They could not have afforded to create another album the fans would deem lackluster. Instead, like Mills himself, the band has a new lease on life. All you have to do to create your own superlatives is pick up the album the minute you can in your territory, and give an ironic “welcome back!” to A Farewell to Arms.

Genre: Hardrock / Metal

Label: Metal Haven

Band:
Tony Mills (v)
Ronnie le Tekro (g)
Victor Borge (b)
Diesel Dahl (d)

Online: www.tnttheband.com

Track Listing:
1. Engine
2. Refugee
3. Ship In The Night
4. Take It Like A Man – Woman
5. Come
6. Barracuda
7. Signature On A Demon’s Self Portrait
8. Don’t Misunderstand Me
9. A Farewell To Arms
10. Someone Else
11. God Natt, Marie
12. Harley Davidson (European bonus track)
12. Not Only Lonely (Japanese bonus track)

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.9/10

TNT A Farewell to Arms

by John Kindred
Staff Writer

After two albums with vocalist Tony Mills, TNT finally may have settled down a bit, returning to a heavy, less experimental vibe on their third studio album, A Farewell to Arms, with Mills. Sans Tony Harnell and Morty Black, Ronni le Tekro and Diesel Dahl dabbled in experimentation on ‘07’s A New Territory and ‘08’s Atlantis. Now continuing on with Mills and bassist Victor Borge, TNT has broken in the new lineup and is ready to rock again.

Produced by Ronni le Tekro at his infamous Studio Studio in Norway, A Farewell to Arms features 11 new songs and features a redo of “Harley Davidson,” which originally appeared on their self-titled debut release back in ’82, as a European bonus track. The song “Not Only Lonely” appears on the Japanese release as a bonus track.

With 12 studio albums under their belt, it is easy to hear that the composition is strongly influenced by Tekro. With Tekro and Mills credited as writing the majority of the music, it’s easy to see why Mills was asked to join the band. His vocal range is a perfect match for Tekro’s frantic guitar playing. At times, his vocals are eerily similar to Harnell but not in a copy-cat way, maybe it’s just that he has incredible range and can sing way up in the stratosphere, which is exactly where Tekro playing is.

A Farewell to Arms is heavy, and it’s melodic … OK, it’s also a bit experimental. But this time around, that experimentation is reigned in considerably. From the opening song, “Engine,” the heaviness (ala ‘84’s Knights of the New Thunder) and urgency of A Farewell to Arms grabs you. The album contains familiar melodies that are reminiscent of ’04’s My Religion.

Tekro slows things down on the acoustic instrumental song, “A Signature on a Demon’s Self-Portrait.” The song, “God Natt, Marie,” is the only ballad-style song on the CD. It has a folk-sounding, almost Blackmore’s Night vibe. As for the rest of the album, melodic vocals, harmonized guitar passages and solos and Tekro’s heavy rhythmic crunch dominate the CD. Lets not forgot the underlying foundation of each song, which is built on the backs of Dahl and Borge.

From a fan perspective, after veering off the path to find a new identity, TNT returns with a vengeance. A Farewell to Arms hits you a lot like My Religion did when it came out. The main difference between the two albums is the guitars are heavier. There’s not a bad song on the CD.

Genre: Hardrock / Metal

Label: Metal Haven

Band:
Tony Mills (v)
Ronnie le Tekro (g)
Victor Borge (b)
Diesel Dahl (d)

Track Listing:
1. Engine
2. Refugee
3. Ship In The Night
4. Take It Like A Man – Woman
5. Come
6. Barracuda
7. Signature On A Demon’s Self Portrait
8. Don’t Misunderstand Me
9. A Farewell To Arms
10. Someone Else
11. God Natt, Marie
12. Harley Davidson (European bonus track)
12. Not Only Lonely (Japanese bonus track)

Hardrock Haven rating: 9/10

Tony Harnell

by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

Tony Harnell checked in with Hardrock Haven to talk about the brand new studio effort Round Trip; the thought process behind reworking TNT classics like “10,000 Lover” and “Intuition;” when we can expect an all new studio album from Harnell and if it will be with the band Tony Harnell and the Mercury Train; how Round Trip allows him to begin a new musical chapter in his life; if there’s any shot of him ever rejoining TNT; and a whole lot more.

 

Harnell is easily one of Hard Rock’s most talented vocalists, and when you hear Round Trip, you will understand he is somehow even better today compared to the first time you ever heard him.  Tune in now to reconnect with one of the best singers you are ever going to hear, and pick up Round Trip as soon as it hits the streets.

(If the embedded player doesn’t populate, click here to stream the interview in a stand alone player.)