All I Know Vanity Kills

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by Ron and Don Higgins
Staff Writers

Melodicrock.com has been reporting on catchy, melodic rock music and reviewing AOR albums for over a decade so it’s not surprising that site founder Andrew McNeice has decided to start his own record label, MelodicRockRecords. One of his first signings is a group of young men known as All I Know. All I Know is a 4-piece rock band from Kortrijk, Belgium, consisting of three permanent members and a revolving drummer who obviously take their inspirations from ‘80s rock bands such as Poison, Bon Jovi, Cheap Trick, Bonfire and Def Leppard. Do these young guns have what it takes to be associated with such classic acts? If this release is any indication, then the only acceptable answer is… absolutely!

Vanity Kills is an updated version of the band’s 2009 independent debut release with two new tracks and a remixed lead single. The two new tracks are “Turn Back” and “All The Way”. The lead single is “Rain” and was remixed by legendary record producer Beau Hill who produced seminal works for bands such as RATT, Europe and Alice Cooper. He offered to assist the band after hearing the album thanks to a copy he received from U.S. radio station KEGL. He said, “All I Know caught my attention with their excellent material, an unusual focus on arrangement details, and progressive melodic hooks…sounds like the recipe for a hit to me.” That’s a pretty solid endorsement!

As you’d expect, “Rain” is one of the standout tracks, as is the lead track “All Night Long”, new track “Turn Back Time”, “Into Your Heart” and “Sweet 17”. “Rain” starts out with a guitar intro reminiscent of Poison’s “I Won’t Forget You” and then morphs into a Bonfire-like song. “All Night Long” is an up-tempo, cruising-down-the-road-with-the-top-down kind of song, with an incredibly catchy chorus. And, no, it is thankfully NOT a cover of Lionel Richie’s hit by the same name.

“Turn Back Time” is one of the new 2010 tracks. This song gets back to more hard rocking. This one has a crunching guitar rhythm, good lead work and some faint keyboards/organ for texture. Again, another catchy chorus is featured. This song is very fitting because this band seems to be turning back time with every track. And that’s a good thing “Into Your Heart” is another song about a special girl and is the most ‘80s sounding track on the record with a keyboard and guitar intro that would sound perfect on any Europe record or John Hughes movie. “Sweet 17” is a guitar-heavy love song about… well, you know. Singing about young 17 year old girls worked well for the Beatles, the Stray Cats and Winger and if enough people hear this song, it could work for All I Know too!

Here’s a breakdown of the remaining 7 tracks.

• “Bad Boy” – This has a different vocal sound and is the first of many songs on the album where the lyrics are written from a guy to a girl. This would sound great live and is, no doubt, a crowd-favorite when played in concert.
• “Asphyxia” – The first of several ballads on the album which keeps the album from getting predictable. It has a nice piano intro and the lyrics again deal with love, but this one deals with love gone wrong. As the chorus says, “I’m sorry. I can’t be what I’m not. It’s time to let go, and never look back.” So girls, you’re in luck… it sounds like your lead singer could use some comforting.
• “I Need You” – This is a melodic, mid-tempo love song. It’s catchy as most of the songs are but if you listen closely there’s a lot going on. Under the electric guitars, you can hear acoustic guitar, some keyboards and then there’s a great lead guitar solo in the middle. It’s a very accessible song that you will find yourself singing along with.
• “I Wanna Rock You” – This is another love song, starting out as a mid-tempo rocker but then speeding up as it progresses. It’s one more example of why these guys are good and worth getting to know. In some ways the songs are simple but they are so well crafted and well produced that they sound like they must have had a huge major-label budget.
• “Teenage Queen” – Another good up-tempo rocker about, once again, a teenage girl. There definitely seems to be a theme going on here, but that’s what rock and roll was built on! This is another decent song on a solid album with a nice guitar intro and strong singing.
• “All The Way” [New 2010 Track] – This mid-tempo rocker has a cool Chuck Berry sounding guitar intro and lots of Christopher Walken approved cow bell. It has some great guitar work in the middle and definitely rocks!
• “Hope and Dreams” – This is a nice acoustic love ballad that again shows the band’s musical diversity. You can’t say that all of the songs sound the same but you can say that all of them are darn good. It’s a nice, peaceful way to wrap up this most impressive album.

This is a young band and most of the lyrics are written from a young man’s perspective. The majority of the songs deal in some way with relationships. Although the lyrics could fit with a number of Disney singers, the music, production and attitude are what make this band feel like a real rock band. Their songs about “Sweet 17” and “Teenage Queen” may not frighten parents as much as, say, Kip Winger singing about 17 year olds when he was in his mid-30’s or 60-year-old Gene Simmons singing about “Christine Sixteen” but it’s still classic rock and roll territory.

This album is well-produced, the songs are well crafted with excellent musicianship and the stand-out features of this band are the big choruses and vocal harmonies. Sure, they sound like they could have been a huge success in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, but now that 20 years have passed and we’ve gone through grunge, rap-rock and today’s radio-friendly hard rock where so many bands sound the same, these guys actually sound fresh and new.

This is the perfect crank-up-the radio-with-your-top-down cruising summer record. It’s impossible to not sing along to each and every track.

Band:
Ward Dufraimont (Lead Vocals/Guitar)
Michaël Neyt (Guitar/Vocals)
Amély Mondy (Bass)

Track Listing:

01) All Night Long
02) Bad Boy
03) Asphyxia
04) Rain [Beau Hill 2010 Remix]
05) Turn Back Time [New 2010 Track]
06) I Need You
07) Into Your Heart
08) I Wanna Rock You
09) Sweet 17
10) Teenage Queen
11) All The Way [New 2010 Track]
12) Hope And Dreams

Web site:
www.alliknow.be

Label: www.MelodicRockRecords.com 

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.75/10