Before I set about the serious business of reviewing the music this LP has to offer, I must first take a moment to note the album cover work, which features a Photoshop montage of sunny holiday resorts mashed up with burning cop cars and skyscrapers so poorly executed I am hard pressed to believe it made it past quality control and onto the actual front cover of an album. I understand that it is a figurative representation of the lyrical contents of the music within, but one can only hope Reece is more capable with a microphone than his designers are with a computer. Fortunately for all involved, he is.

David Reece is a front man of some pedigree having had short stints in both ACCEPT and BONFIRE, recording 1989's "Eat the Heat" with the former, the first ACCEPT album not to feature legendary frontman Udo Dirkschneider and two albums with the latter, as well as fronting his own successful Hard Rock project BANGALORE CHOIR for three LPs. While his time with ACCEPT was brief, this is still a noteworthy achievement.

We turn the ignition with the quasi-title track "Utopia", kicking off with a great drum fill and heavy riff that leads into a rhythmically dynamic verse, topped off by a potently melodic chorus. There's lots of experimentation with the guitars, having winding passages that constantly change up tempo and duck and weave around different rhythms, one minute driving Hard Rock, the next punchy staccato. A strong start, but rather than take a breath, the album does the opposite on the next song, "Red Blooded Hell Raiser" stepping up a gear with a more straightforward, but highly energetic excursion into 80s style Hard Rock with driving guitars and drums and less room for fanciful rhythmic ideas.

A highlight is the heavy as hell "Civil War" and it's not just the thumping bass and drums, or the raucous riffing that carry some weight, but also the deadly serious lyrics which are a recurring feature of the album. The lyrics are never more topical than on "American Dream," being an American working in Europe, Reece has a broad perspective which informs his lyrical work. The song is full of fear and trepidation about the direction the country is taking, and uses the term ironically, as he no doubt feels the dream has become sullied. Musically it's a bit of a sing-along track, although not one you'll want to feel good about.

Featuring a blistering solo from Andy Susemihl, "I Can't Breathe" flirts with groove metal, while the riff is a headbanging blinder that will have you stamping your foot in appreciation, the choruses present something more conventional and melodic. Continuing to demonstrate their diversity "Most Of The Time" has lashings of NWOBHM, the riff is classic Adrian Smith and the vocals more theatrical than we have seen so far. They show they can get dark as well on the grungy, apocalyptic "Devil At My Door".

The track's heaviness is belied by a melodic chorus, but one of the most brutal riffs on the album can be found on "Highway Child," the guitars are absolutely grooving on this track, while Francesco Jovino kicks out some short blasts of double bass that put even more meat on the bones. This leads into another dark brooding rocker to close the LP out in "Book of Lies," once again the verses are driven by a grinding riff, while the choruses launch skyward with Reece's impressive pipes giving us all something to sing to.

There is really very little to fault in the performances on this album, they are a very capable group of musicians. Production was overseen by Reece himself with involvement from guitarist Andy Susemihl and is very competent if a little bit bland. The song writing dips its toes into lots of different styles of Rock, which keeps you guessing from track to track. Reece knows how to create a hook but does not resort to gimmicks, the album is efficient and gives no time over to filler. With the addition of the thought-provoking lyrical content, this is a fine way to spend an hour of your evening.