ANGEL is, by rights, a name on the tongues of the majority of classic Hard Rock, having been first recognised by Gene Simmons himself as a band that 'matters'. Not technically having seen activity from inside the studio since 1999, frontman Frank Dimino has come back with a... 'comeback' album, under his own name, performing lead vocals, backed by a stellar cast of ex-ANGEL bandmates Punky and Barry, Oz Fox (STRYPER), Eddie Ojeda (TWISTED SISTER), Rickey Medlocke (BLACKFOOT, LYNYRD SKYNYRD), Pat Thrall (HUGHES/THRALL), Jeff Duncan (ARMORED SAINT), and Jeff Labansky.

Titled "Old Habits Die Hard", the title rather speaks for itself. At best, it's a "cool" album. Hooks, flashy riffs, meaty keyboards, and absolutely stellar vocal lines; something you don't often see coming from singers with such a long career behind them, their vocals tiring and straining as time goes on. Not Frank.

"Never Again", opening the album with a fantastic drum fill, let me down with a bit of an "oh..."; the few seconds of frantic drum battery held my expectations high for an upbeat and frenetic Rock track, but was met with something a bit 'too' AOR sounding. "Rockin In The City" is a lot more interesting, musically, if you can escape the incredulously cheesy lyrics; but then, 'back then', wasn't that the point of all that is Glam? A step up from the opening piece in almost every way (and a few of the other tracks on the album), Frank's voice is best exemplified here, expressing an immense range, with piercing and pure high notes that rival those of Ripper Owens; something that would be repeated on the powerhouse "Sweet Sensation", reaching air-raid siren frequencies. "Even Now", unfortunately one of the few tracks left on the album that managed to "wow" me as a song, is a fantastic power ballad, where Frank seamlessly transitions from tender to belt. On "Mad As Hell" and "The Quest" the music takes a decidedly NWOBHM-like direction, with upbeat and aggressive drumming and riffing.

This album is an arguable example of when "tried and true" is "nothing new". Frank's fantastic vocal deliveries on this album give it some semblance of a "wow" factor, but track to track it's not necessarily revolutionary, plenty of the songs and motifs coming across as generic, even fillers. Without being facetious or derogatory, it's "the kind of thing you'd expect" from a Rock legend making a comeback (need I direct you towards Ace Frehley?).