{"id":50437,"date":"2015-10-12T07:37:13","date_gmt":"2015-10-12T12:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=50437"},"modified":"2015-10-12T07:37:13","modified_gmt":"2015-10-12T12:37:13","slug":"joel-hoekstras-13-dying-to-live-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2015\/joel-hoekstras-13-dying-to-live-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Joel Hoekstra\u2019s 13 | Dying To Live<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"hoekstra-dying-to-live\"Few things in this world are as predictable as line-up changes within Whitesnake. Last year\u2019s brought the news of Doug Aldrich leaving the group only to be replaced by Joel Hoekstra (formerly of Night Ranger and Trans-Siberian Orchestra \u2013 and more). A player versatile and nifty enough to rise to the challenge, Hoekstra embraced the new gig. He also continued to work on what was going to morph into his fourth solo effort. The release turned out to be one of the most anticipated in 2015, excitement fueled by the big names featured on the album \u2013 from singers Russell Allen (Symphony X, Allen-Lande, Adrenaline Mob etc.) and Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie Malmsteen, Talisman, Takara, Eyes, Axel Rudi Pell etc.) sharing the microphone to top instrumental players Tony Franklin (The Firm, Blue Murder etc.) Vinny Appice (Dio, Black Sabbath etc.) and Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater). The final result is Dying To Live \u2013 Hoekstra\u2019s bold take on Melodic Hard Rock genre, set to be released in mid-October 2015 via Frontiers Music SRL.<\/p>\n

\u201cSay Goodbye To The Sun\u201d is a strong opener to Dying To Live<\/em>. The track\u2019s firmly embedded in Melodic Hard Rock aesthetics as far as the genre\u2019s concerned, but gravitating towards the heavier side of things with its aggressive riff, blistering guitar solo and powerhouse chorus. Clearly modern vibe to it doesn\u2019t preclude subtle Dio-esque undertones, making it a fine blend of the classic and the contemporary. \u201cAnymore\u201d is driven with Russell Allen\u2019s expressive vocals similarly to its predecessor and also not drastically different from it music-wise, albeit more catchy. <\/p>\n

In \u201cUntil I Left You\u201d the microphone\u2019s turned over to another vocal giant on board \u2013 Jeff Scott Soto. Because of this fact and the track\u2019s neat AOR-ish flavor, the track itself doesn\u2019t fall far from Soto\u2019s earlier recordings done with Talisman, Takara or Eyes. It also shows a different dimension to Hoekstra\u2019s guitar playing, capturing his well-developed sense of melody. \u201cLong For The Days\u201d follows with its charming vocal harmonies only to precede \u201cScream\u201d which is gritty and powerful. The keyboard parts have certain classic vibe to them, almost Purple-ish, countervailed by heavy, modern guitar sound \u2013 panache of \u201870s Rock transformed into the musical realms of the 21st century. <\/p>\n

\u201cNever Say Never\u201d is next, opened with a ten-second acoustic short that could have possibly been a throwback to Joel Hoekstra\u2019s previous solo album 13 Acoustic Songs<\/em>. The track itself, however, is nothing ballad-ish or mellow; a solid guitar-and-keyboard driven piece built around a well-crafted, catchy chorus. \u201cChanges\u201d is pure AOR much in vein of classic \u201880s and early \u201890s bands \u2013 from Foreigner to Bad English \u2013 complemented with a melodic solo. <\/p>\n

A bit more funky than its predecessors, \u201cThe Only Way To Go\u201d blends its heavy groove with a certain dose of catchiness, whereas the title track juxtaposes heavy, lumbering and Sabbath-esque guitar tones with a handful of Modern Rock borrowings. \u201cStart Again\u201d is a different musical tale again, told in a light-hearted vein but also embroidered with neat acoustic parts and some real keyboard wizardry. \u201cWhat We Believe\u201d closes the album on a contemplative note, a soaring ballad-ish duo between Soto and an impressive singer Chloe Lowery (Trans-Siberian Orchestra). <\/p>\n

In spite of Joel Hoekstra\u2019s 13 being built around a musician who\u2019s primarily identified as a guitar player, Dying To Live<\/em> is certainly not a guitar-oriented album. Differently from Joel Hoekstra\u2019s previous solo efforts, it shows many dimensions to his artistry, putting an emphasis on his adeptness in the craft of songwriting and song arrangements rather than just shredding. And although embroidered with a certain amount of tasteful guitar licks, the record\u2019s not laden with them. With such a balanced attitude and rich experience under his belt \u2013 and a line-up one couldn\u2019t have gone wrong with \u2013 Joel Hoekstra went as far as to demystify the dreaded number chosen as his band moniker. It\u2019s because from now on, 13 \u2013 as in Joel Hoekstra\u2019s 13 \u2013 is Melodic Rock at its finest rather than bad luck coming one\u2019s way.<\/p>\n

Edition notes: The Japanese version of the album includes the bonus track \u201cNever Want\u201d featuring Jeff Scott Soto, whereas the digital version includes also \u201cKill Or Be Killed\u201d featuring Russell Allen.<\/p>\n

Genre: Melodic Hard Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nJoel Hoekstra (Whitesnake) – guitars, backing vocals
\nJeff Scott Soto (Journey\/Yngwie Malmsteen) – lead vocals (track 3, 5, 8, 10, 11), backing vocals
\nRussell Allen (Adrenaline Mob\/Symphony X) – lead vocals (track 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9), backing vocals
\nVinny Appice (Black Sabbath\/Dio) – drums
\nTony Franklin (The Firm\/Blue Murder) – bass<\/p>\n

Guest Musicians:
\nDerek Sherinian (Dream Theater\/Black Country Communion) – keyboards
\nChloe Lowery (Trans Siberian Orchestra) – vocals
\nToby Hitchcock (Pride of Lions) – additional backing vocals
\nCharlie Zeleny (Joe Lynn Turner) – percussion
\nDave Eggar (Amy Lee\/Coldplay) – cello<\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1.\tSay Goodbye To The Sun
\n2.\tAnymore
\n3.\tUntil I Left You
\n4.\tLong For The Days
\n5.\tScream
\n6.\tNever Say Never
\n7.\tChanges
\n8.\tThe Only Way To Go
\n9.\tDying To Live
\n10.\tStart Again
\n11.\tWhat We Believe<\/p>\n

Label: Frontiers Music SRL<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.joelhoekstra.com<\/a> – https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JoelHoekstra13<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Senior Columnist — Few things in this world are as predictable as line-up changes within Whitesnake. Last year\u2019s brought the news of Doug Aldrich leaving the group only to be replaced […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":50438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12394],"tags":[8498,2317,11728,374,185,11180,2847,3231,10118,2588],"class_list":{"0":"post-50437","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2015","8":"tag-8498","9":"tag-cd-review","10":"tag-dying-to-live","11":"tag-frontiers-records","12":"tag-jeff-scott-soto","13":"tag-joel-hoekstra","14":"tag-melodic-hard-rock","15":"tag-russell-allen","16":"tag-tony-franklin","17":"tag-vinny-appice"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50437","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=50437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}