{"id":65442,"date":"2019-01-29T17:47:04","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T22:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=65442"},"modified":"2019-01-29T17:47:04","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T22:47:04","slug":"toby-hitchcock-reckoning-music-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2019\/toby-hitchcock-reckoning-music-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Toby Hitchcock | Reckoning"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Franco Cerchiari<\/span>
\n\u2014 Sr. Columnist \u2014<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Toby Hitchcock, the voice behind the excellent AOR staple Pride of Lions drops his second solo CD titled Reckoning<\/em> released on the Frontiers Records label. Toby\u2019s powerful, huge voice resonates throughout as songs awash with those sounds that are telltale AOR add full melody and structure. Softer, with more an emphasis on keyboards than the heavier guitars that was heard on his previous solo project, Mercury Down, as the tougher, edgier sound that Erik Martenssen (Eclipse\/Nordic Union\/W.E.T.) brought to Mercury Down has been replaced by true lighter AOR brought to life by Melodic Rock veterans Michael Palace (Cry of Dawn\/Code Red\/First Signal\/Palace) and Daniel Flores (Mind\u2019s Eye, Codex, The Murder of My Sweet.) But fans of Lionville, Shadowman, Airrace, or Miss Behavior will certainly find much to like about Reckoning<\/em>, while those who liked the harder Mercury Down may need a spin or two of Reckoning<\/em> to fully appreciate what is heard here.<\/p>\n

However, when hearing such wonderful tunes like the excellent opening track, \u201cNo Surrender,\u201d where Toby Hitchcock\u2019s voice is front and center, the buildup of sound and passion as heard on the CD highlight \u201cFighting For My Life,\u201d the gorgeous keyboards of the tender \u201cShow Me How To Live,\u201d and the Journey-esque \u201cQueen Untouchable,\u201d it becomes tough to not like what this release is about. Also worth noting are the synthesizers, drums and soaring chorus heard on\u201d Gift of Flight,\u201d the rocking \u201cThis Is Our World,\u201d the pure Melodic Rock of the mid temp \u201cDon\u2019t Leave,\u201d and the vibe of the 1980s is all over the closing track, \u201cSomeone Like You.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keyboards are the order of the day here, and while it would have been nice to hear tougher guitars, there is nothing at all wrong with Reckoning<\/em>. The sound is pristine as Frontiers Records is so great at perfecting and presenting to fans of AOR. Toby\u2019s voice is center stage, as his commanding voice echoes. Multi-layered arrangements make full use of each musical bar that adds up to music that is full, rich and speaker filling. The cover art that shows Toby in a contemplative mood is carried through the music of Reckoning, as these songs seem to have a personal meaning to the man who made this release possible.<\/p>\n

All in all, well done is Reckoning<\/em> with songs sung by one of the great voices in rock. Of course nothing that will be heard on useless American radio, but listen to this you should. For when those times when something more melodic, keyboard heavy and unadulterated AOR is needed, take a heed of Toby Hitchcock\u2019s wonderful Reckoning<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Genre: AOR<\/p>\n

Band Members<\/p>\n

Toby Hitchcock \u2013 vocals
\nDaniel Flores \u2013 drums, keyboards
\nMichael Palace \u2013 guitar, bass<\/p>\n

Track Listing<\/p>\n

No Surrender
\nPromise Me
\nShow Me How To Live
\nBehind The Lies
\nFighting For My Life
\nSerenity
\nQueen Untouchable
\nGift Of Flight
\nDon\u2019t Leave
\nThis Is Our World
\nSomeone Like You<\/p>\n

Label: Frontiers Records<\/p>\n

Website: www.facebook.com\/tobyhitchcock<\/a><\/p>\n

HRH Rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Franco Cerchiari \u2014 Sr. Columnist \u2014 Toby Hitchcock, the voice behind the excellent AOR staple Pride of Lions drops his second solo CD titled Reckoning released on the Frontiers Records label. Toby\u2019s powerful, huge […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":65443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[374,14842,14841],"class_list":{"0":"post-65442","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music-reviews","8":"tag-frontiers-records","9":"tag-reckoning-music-review","10":"tag-toby-hitchcock"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65442","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\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}