{"id":31538,"date":"2013-08-20T06:07:14","date_gmt":"2013-08-20T11:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=31538"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:37:28","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:37:28","slug":"phil-vincent-face-it-solar-flare-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/phil-vincent-face-it-solar-flare-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Phil Vincent Face It \/Solar Flare<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"PVFace It<\/em> is the latest release from melodic metal\u2019s own one-man-band, Phil Vincent. Phil is out once again to prove that one man CAN do it all \u2013 and he succeeds. This is newest in a large and ever-growing discography that includes not only his solo efforts, but also his work with melodic metal bands Tragik, D\u2019Ercole, Circular Logik, and Legion. Solar Flare<\/em> is a full-length bonus CD, one originally released as a digital download in 2012.<\/p>\n

Vincent continues to prove himself to be one of the true Renaissance men of modern rock, handling almost every aspect of his recordings both in front of and behind the microphone, as well as working both sides of the mixing board. He plays guitar, bass, drums, and keys, he writes (or co-writes in rare cases) all of his songs, and produces and engineers his own CDs, so a Phil Vincent album truly IS a Phil Vincent album. Originally a drummer and songwriter, Vincent grew like a weed into other instruments and studio operations until he could do it all. Unlike other multi-instrumentalists, Phil can sing as well as play, and writes songs with a firm grasp of lyrics and an ever-present sense of melody. Influenced by everyone from the Beatles to Kiss, Phil Vincent\u2019s music is a treat for the ear, and an inspiration to any aspiring musician.<\/p>\n

Both Face It<\/em> and Solar Flare<\/em> are solid, riff-driven melodic rock \/ metal releases, with the former being more diverse and the latter heavier and more \u201cmetal.\u201d As listeners have come to expect, Phil delivers his music with enthusiasm and passion. Besides the multi-layered vocals, he also plays rhythm guitar, bass, drums and keyboards on all tracks \u2013 and plays all of them remarkably well. He also does a number of lead guitar solos himself, but he has called in Vince O\u2019Regan, David Zychek, Billy Roux, Michael J. Sprague, Paul Columbo, and Steven Albanese to assist with the six-string fireworks. Overall, Phil\u2019s music is packed with diverse melodies, big guitar hooks, and well-written lyrics that take the classic sound of 80\u2019s and 90\u2019s hard rock and modernizes it without sterilizing it.<\/p>\n

\"PVThis pair of CDs contains a little bit of everything. Face It runs the gamut from crunchy rhythm lines (\u201cLong Hard Road,\u201d \u201cIs This All There Is?\u201d) to pop-rock tracks (\u201cSooner Or Later,\u201d \u201cNothing But Time\u201d) to heavy but melodic rock (\u201cCan\u2019t Go Back,\u201d \u201cDivided\u201d) to epic guitar histrionics (\u201cMake Up Your Mind\u201d). \u201cWe All Die Young\u201d is a fine mellow keyboard epic with poignant lyrics and strong vocals \u2013 showcasing Vincent\u2019s songwriting skills at their best. Phil\u2019s best vocal lines are arguably on the slower \u201cChanges,\u201d a track that features introspective lyrics, many vocal layers, and smoking hot guitars. \u201cFull Circle\u201d even has touches of progressive\/alternative rock. The influences of Dokken and Winger are obvious, but Phil\u2019s sound is completely modern.<\/p>\n

Solar Flare<\/em> is the older of the two albums, and there are some differences. The music tends to be a little heavier, and the mix is not quite as solid \u2013 most notably on the vocals. Again, the CD boasts a number of styles ranging from gritty hard rock (\u201cOn The Run\u201d) to heavy bass-driven blues-influenced tracks (\u201cNorthern Lights\u201d) to arena rockers (\u201cBetter Walk Away\u201d), pure metal (\u201cCatching Fire\u201d) and power ballads (\u201cThe Last Goodbye\u201d). All are written with the expected Phil Vincent flair and sense of melody, so despite the rougher vocals (really only noticeable if you\u2019ve just listened to Face It) Solar Flare is a winner as well.<\/p>\n

The production and engineering are very good, and Phil shows that he is equally adept behind the mixing board. All of the instruments are well balanced and clear, and Vincent has done a fine job with his multi-layered vocals. Phil\u2019s songwriting skills are apparent as well \u2013 everything is tight and performed beautifully, and with spirit. His small supporting cast \u2013 mostly guitar soloists \u2013 does a superb job throughout. No filler material here!<\/p>\n

Simple recommendation \u2013 pick up Face It<\/em> \/ Solar Flare<\/em> if you like rock of almost any kind. Fans of any hard rock or metal genre will be able to find something here that they will like (well, except for death metal or female-fronted\u2026). The mix of modern rock styles is impressive and all are well executed. Phil Vincent manages to avoid falling into the rut of routine and keeps his music lively, fresh, and always melodic! When you consider that he is a \u201cone man band\u201d through both CDs, Phil Vincent proves himself to be nothing short of amazing.<\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock, Metal<\/p>\n

Face It Band:
\nPhil Vincent (vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, drums)
\nGuest musicians: Vince O\u2019Regan (guitar solos on tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11); David Zychek (guitar solo on 2); Billy Roux (guitar solo on 8); Michael J. Sprague (rhythm & acoustic guitars on 13)<\/p>\n

Solar Flare Band:
\nPhil Vincent (vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, drums)
\nGuest musicians : Paul Columbo (rhythm guitars on 14, 15, 19, 22); Steven Albanese (rhythm guitar on 16); Vince O\u2019Regan (guitar solos on 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:<\/p>\n

Face It
\n1.\tThe Lost Self
\n2.\tLong Hard Road
\n3.\tMake Up Your Mind
\n4.\tSooner or Later
\n5.\tWe All Die Young
\n6.\tIs This All There Is?
\n7.\tCan’t Go Back
\n8.\tBurning Bridges
\n9.\tChanges
\n10.\tDivided
\n11.\tEnd of the Line
\n12.\tNothing But Time
\n13.\tFull Circle<\/p>\n

Solar Flare (Bonus CD)
\n14.\tOn The Run
\n15.\tNorthern Lights
\n16.\tMake Believe
\n17.\tBetter Walk Away
\n18.\tAll Over You
\n19.\tThis Is The Moment
\n20.\tThe Last Goodbye
\n21.\tAngel
\n22.\tCatching Fire
\n23.\tBetween Us
\n24.\tCoup De Gras
\n25.\tIt\u2019s Finally Over<\/p>\n

Label: Phil Vincent Music<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.philvincent.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis – Senior Columnist — Face It is the latest release from melodic metal\u2019s own one-man-band, Phil Vincent. Phil is out once again to prove that one man CAN do it all \u2013 […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":31541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[1103,2267,952],"class_list":{"0":"post-31538","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-hard-rock","9":"tag-metal","10":"tag-phil-vincent"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}