FICTION SYXX are a band of pros, looking at the current line-up that much is clear. Featuring members who have played with PERSIAN RISK, KING KOBRA, XYZ, MONTROSE, JOE LYNN TURNER and more, it is no surprise that this is a very professional sounding third album we have here in "Ghost of My Fathers Past," an expertly performed and solidly written album of Melodic Hard Rock.

A disconnected phased guitar riff introduces the album, which doesn't take long to come to life with "Bleed for The Truth". Immediately we can see that a great deal of effort has been out into the production and recording of this effort. The vocals ands backing vocals are richly layered, multiple guitars wail and scream in the background, swirling around the main verse/chorus structure of the song. Not too far in we are treated to versatile guitar solo, with lots of squeals and dives. I'm not too hot on the slightly over shred-heavy approach to parts of the solo though, it's a bit gratuitous in places. Still, it's a strong start to the LP overall and sets us up nicely for the similarly paced but groovier "Caught Up in The Moment". Again, the guitar solo on this has some lush moments, but also some face-meltingly unnecessary shredding.

"My Father's Ghost" has a name that sounds deeply personal, but I wonder if this isn't actually some sort of allegory and if the song is actually about the somewhat lamentable state the USA managed to twist itself into over the last few years, the Father perhaps being one of the Founding types. It is a belting tune, whatever it is about.

I'm not too keen on "Waiting, Wondering," a cumbersome and warbling ballad that is all very earnest, but just doesn't ever go anywhere. Fortunately, we don't have to wait too long for the album to get back on its feet with "History Comes Tumbling Down" which features some more apparently socially conscious lyrics. Of greater importance however, it has a super riff that is locked right in with some great bass drum work from Rory Faciane, not to mention an utterly cool retro synth solo that will have you expecting Flash Gordon to appear on the horizon flanked by a bevy of Hawkmen at any moment.

"This Place Called Life" seems to have a more personal angle to the lyrics, it's a belting sing-along chorus which is excoriating an anonymous target for their patronising attitude. The chorus is one that you'll want to sing along, even if the solo goes a bit too heavy on the shredding again. The second ballad proper on the LP, "Innocence" I found to be slightly cringe-inducing. It has all the great production, vocal layering, attention to detail and everything else we have come to expect. It is even covering a super serious subject matter, but it's hard to take a lyric with the cheese level of "look into the eyes of children" seriously without hysterical South Park characters coming to mind. It is still a well written song though, with a catchy vocal hook.

More retro synths abound on "Whispers in The Dark" as Lanoue channels David Coverdale in a classic Glam-tinged Hard Rocker. Nothing ground-breaking here, especially lyrically, just great dynamic song writing and performances. Larry Hart's bass gets its own moment to shine with an almost funky off-beat section that is dripping with good taste. Equally tasteful is the last proper track on the album (the final track is a cover) "Beyond the Shadows" a modest mid-tempo rocker with powerful heavyweight drumming and a soaring guitar solo.

As I already mentioned, the album ends with a cover, of BLACK SABBATH'S "Children of The Sea" to be precise. It's just fine, but I struggle to see the point, especially of rounding out an album of solid original material with somebody else's song. But whatever, FICTION SYXX wouldn't be the first band to erroneously believe this to be a good idea.

Experience is the key here, I think. This band is not breaking any rules, but they have lots of experience with the craft which is at least as useful as youthful exuberance, which they have less of. The arrangements are excellent, they avoid any mindless repetition or dragging of ideas out. The rhythm section is immaculate and Eric Ragno's keyboards are also a big feature of the album, helping the band create a huge arena filling sound that, if there is any justice, will be filling arenas one day soon.