From their website, “Featuring lead singer Simon Marwood, who co-founded the band in 1988, guitarist Juan Miguel Gomez Montant, keyboard player Scottie Irving, drummer Alex Wickham and bassist Andrew Burns, shows FATAL VISIION continuing to delve into a rich tapestry of sounds both familiar and modern. They nod to their key influences, including SURVIVOR, BAD ENGLISH, LOVERBOY, NIGHT RANGER, and REO SPEEDWAGON. Allow me to make a statement. 1988 was a long time ago, and music has undergone lots of changes since then. The core of this Hard Rock/AOR sound remained essentially the same, however, even 35 years later. Therein lies the issue. How can a band who creates music that was popular 35 years ago hope to retain the same listeners today?

The easy answer is to pander to that same audience. I was a teenager during the 1980’s, and many of my friends let time pass them by and keep longing for the same exact sound. It’s the natural order of things. However, as I let my musical horizons expand, many of the bands I love today are very different than the AOR sound of the 1980’s. A small part of me still loves that sounds though, but the challenge for bands in this genre is not having to re-create the wheel, but still coming up with hooks and riffs that haven’t been overdone in the distant past. Add to the challenge that the album has a whopping 14 songs, and we have set the stage for the listen. Let’s get to some of the highlights on the album.

“Time of our Lives” smartly manages to capture some of the magic of yesteryear, with a rocking riff, high energy, and some very memorable melodies and great hooks, “In Another Life” has a tender sound of longing, perhaps regret as the saying goes, with charming male and female vocals, “It’s Not Over Till It’s Over” has a full rich sound, with strong vocal harmonies and a simple but effective melody line, “Girl in my Dreams” has a soft, bluesy touch, and a poignant feeling, “One Wild Night” is faster paced, burning with energy, and a crunchy guitar riff, “Sting of the Rain” has a deep emotional impact from a slower and more melancholy sound, “Thank you Very Much Goodnight” uses rich keyboards to support the guitars and the vocals, and finally, “Endless Emotions” is a “power ballad” that talks about how older songs on the radio brings up feelings of the past.

Overall, this was a good album. They didn’t re-create the wheel, as that would be nearly impossible, but what they did do well was push emotions in their music, and created some memorable hooks for the listener to take with them. There was also a nice balance between the vocals and the instruments, to the point where one didn’t outshine the other.