{"id":56206,"date":"2017-12-02T05:00:49","date_gmt":"2017-12-02T10:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=56206"},"modified":"2017-12-02T05:00:49","modified_gmt":"2017-12-02T10:00:49","slug":"pink-cream-69-headstrong-music-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2017\/pink-cream-69-headstrong-music-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Pink Cream 69 | Headstrong"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Franco Cerchiari<\/span>
\n– Sr. Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Germany\u2019s Pink Cream 69 are back, with this their 12th studio outing, Headstrong<\/em>, released on the always great Frontiers Records label. And holy hell, David Readman, and company have released another spectacular slice of Melodic Hard Rock. With the same lineup as was featured on their outstanding 2013 contribution, Ceremonial, fans of Pretty Maids, H.E.A.T., Shakra, Gotthard, Eclipse, and Skansis need to rush out and make this a part of their collections. <\/p>\n

David\u2019s forceful, grainy voice is perfect for the Melodic Hard Rock that PC69 is so excellent at dishing out. Without effort, he can shift from the tenor to an almost baritone which was perfect when hearing \u201cThe Other Man.\u201d His commanding vocal presence demands to be heard, but not in such a way that it becomes a nuisance or grating. Instead, his voice blends so well with the driving guitar work, fat bass lines, heavy-handed drums, and the melodies that fill each musical bar. The songs were loud, strong, and vigorous. Ballads nicely broke up the flow when needed, but just as quickly as the next song started, Hard Rock came straight toward the listener, making no apologies. All over Headstrong vocal harmonies are the order of the day, and razor sharp guitar solos with heavy guitar chords adeptly kept his voice company. No song needed to be skipped over, not a filler to be heard. No keyboards were heard, that on some band\u2019s releases can make for an even stronger listen, but when hearing Headstrong, it\u2019s a thought that perhaps keyboards would have taken away from the hard, tough edge that this album is all about. <\/p>\n

Along with hearing outstanding music, it\u2019s always a great thing that when listening to the lyrics, the story brought on by the words made sense, and added to that song\u2019s importance. The lyrics of Headstrong at times were biting (\u201cBloodsucker,\u201d) sincere, (\u201cMan of Sorrow,\u201d) and cautionary, (\u201cWe Bow To None.\u201d) <\/p>\n

The clarity that the Frontiers Records label is so known for is another reason that fans of PC69 need to pick this one up. Listen to the almost Metal vibe of \u201cWalls Came Down,\u201d the insane riffs of \u201cNo More Fear,\u201d the drums of \u201cPath of Destiny,\u201d the fat bass guitar licks of \u201cWhistleblower,\u201d and things slow down with the bluesy \u201cVagrant of the Night.\u201d <\/p>\n

This album perfectly echoes what Pink Cream 69 is all about \u2013 a band committed to creating songs played with a true desire to bring to their fans their best, along with, amazing musicianship that showed on each song. When the CD faded into black it was a desire to once again start this CD from the beginning. Also part of this release is a second CD that features 9 songs played live, from a 2013 tour that showed just how great PC69 is in concert which made the desire even stronger, the boys of Pink Cream 69 will come to American shores. So many strong points to the live CD, but true standouts included \u201cThe Spirit,\u201d \u201cBreak the Silence,\u201d \u201cWasted Years,\u201d \u201cTalk To The Moon,\u201d and a give and take between David Readman and the crowd speaking in his native German as well as in English. While radio will once again prove how horrible they are at making albums like Headstrong part of their playlists, hear this you should. <\/p>\n

At the close of each year, the owner\/webmaster of Hardrock Haven, John Kindred, asks each of his staff writers to compile a \u201cbest of\u201d list. To be honest, this reviewer\u2019s list is getting crowded as it is becoming damn hard to pick out just 10 of 2017\u2019s best. But its gotta be said, Pink Cream 69\u2019s Headstrong<\/em> may just need to find a place on that list as one of the best of 2017. <\/p>\n

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

Band Members:
\nDavid Readman \u2013 vocals
\nAlfred Koffler \u2013 guitar
\nUwe Reitanauer \u2013 guitar
\nDennis Ward \u2013 bass
\nChris Schmidt \u2013 drums<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. We Bow To None
\n2. Walls Came Down
\n3. United and Divide
\n4. No More Fear
\n5. Man Of Sorrow
\n6. Path of Destiny
\n7. Vagrant of the Night
\n8. Bloodsucker
\n9. Whistleblower
\n10. The Other Man <\/p>\n

Bonus Live CD:
\n1.\tSpecial
\n2.\tTalk To The Moon
\n3.\tBreak the Silence
\n4.\tDo You Like It Like That
\n5.\tThe Spirit
\n6.\tLivin\u2019 My Life For You
\n7.\tWasted Years
\n8.\tWelcome The Night
\n9.\tShame<\/p>\n

Label: Frontiers Records<\/p>\n

Website: www.pinkcream69.de<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: [usr 9 size=20]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Franco Cerchiari – Sr. Columnist — Germany\u2019s Pink Cream 69 are back, with this their 12th studio outing, Headstrong, released on the always great Frontiers Records label. And holy hell, David Readman, and company […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":56208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15128],"tags":[2336,374,1103,13937,2847,12354,9293],"class_list":{"0":"post-56206","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2017","8":"tag-david-readman","9":"tag-frontiers-records","10":"tag-hard-rock","11":"tag-headstrong","12":"tag-melodic-hard-rock","13":"tag-music-review","14":"tag-pink-cream-69"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56206","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=56206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}