GIANT? With a new album? Hell yeah! Ooops...wait a minute...no Dann Huff on the list? Hmmm...OK, permanent lineups do not last forever but this is a critical action for this American Rock outfit. David Huff and Mike Brignardello remain in this revamped GIANT lineup and "Promise Land" is a new studio release after many many years the band was put on ice. 2001's "III" record was released with GIANT being - I think - inactive and long gone are the days of the unsaid success of both "Last Of The Runaways" (1989) and "Time To Burn" (1992).

As said in the official Press release, "it became apparent that Dann Huff could not be a full part of this concept [...] original members drummer David Huff and bassist Mike Brignardello [...] started an endless research for the right musicians that could be part of a renewed GIANT lineup". These replacements are definitely good news for everyone deep in the melodic/hard Rock scene. John Roth (WINGER) and Terry Brock (STRANGEWAYS, SEVENTH KEY, SLAMER) are not names that can go unnoticed, but the crucial questions remains: are they capable of filling in for Dann's absence at least (I had no hope Alan Pasqua would be featured in this 2010 rebirth)? Phew...this album needs a lot of attention to do some elementary justice.

Nearly one hour of unheard GIANT material is featured in "Promise Land" and I must confess I had some sparkling demons torturing my verdict while listening to this CD again and again. The production is everything a GIANT fan would expect: clear, classic and powerful, it upgrades the music anyway. Terry's voice is convincing and there should be no strong doubt 'bout it anyway since his deeds with both STRANGEWAYS and SEVENTH KEY are solid credentials to his value. The music, now, is OK...yeap, OK. There's melody allover, there are some great leads shining in front of a conscious rhythm section and the overall result is surely good. Fast rockers, mid-pace groovers, calm AOR-like melodies...the band's style is not altered in regards to the classics delivered years ago (the video for "Promise Land" shown below is a good proof) but I have the impression GIANT has chosen some more in-your-face plain paths to build their melodies upon. I do not know if this due to Dann Huff's absence or it was intentional anyway while writing stuff for the new album. And that's just a remark and nothing you should be afraid but surely keep in mind, of course.

Dann himself is performing some leads in two songs and shares songwriting credits for some cuts and I wonder what the whole album would sound like with his voice/technique. The sweetness of "Promise Land", the firmness of "Two Worlds", the attitude of "Plenty Of Love" and the simplicity of "Through My Eyes" will possibly put a spell on you and - to sum it up - this new GIANT effort is worth your interest. Still, if you feel you're betrayed not seeing Dann Huff in the lineup I do not know how much strength the tunes themselves should carry in order to bring you comfort. There's some nice safe music here but nothing intriguing, to put it straight.