For those who already Rock, I will salute you too. Without any special relevance to the old classic song of AC/DC "For Those About To Rock", this here album felt right to receive such indication. With 70s and early 80s Hard Rock in their blood, along with hinters of the current Hard Rock scene, the German Rockers of HARD RIOT present their debut album "Living On A Fast Lane", released via their new label of Pitch Black Records. Since I am always reviewing different albums, all I wanted was to taste something influenced by the punching nature of AC/DC and I was fortunate to stumble upon these guys (Thanks Phivos!). However, I also crossed upon a strong old DEF LEPPARD vibe of "On Through The Night" and a slight modern flavor of US Rockers of NICKELBACK. Well at least HARD RIOT has great neat solos unlike Chad Krueger's band. American is good but in this case, German is better and it pays the tribute quite well.

I was glad that HARD RIOT didn't get caught too much with all the old Rock clichés, meaning recycling the same old stuff over and over without a point just to make pointless hits that will fade after the first listen. Though "Black Widow", even with its Bluesy vibration, sounded as if stuck somewhere and in a way digging its own grave into nothingness. On the other hand, "Black Widow" was the only track that made me think about HARD RIOT in a different manner, so its hold over me was less than minimal.

As I swept through the tracklist I found crunchy Rockers like the awesome "Hellfire Rock", "Take Me Down" and "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw". Even if it was a tribute to the past and it is hard not to see it, HARD RIOT didn't dwell on it too much and therefore their tracks sound like something is moving forward while being well arranged. On the other corner there are the anthems of "No Surrender" and "Tears In The Rain". The former is a track that I connected too very much. Though tracks like this one have been mostly perceived as clichés, it felt right and honest to me. The latter track is the ultimate grounds to build a full scale hit. The rhythms are excellent, great solos and a hell of a soaring vocalic line.

So there you have it, a cool, and an easy to listen release to forget your troubles yet with the strong sense of Rock to back it up. Some might sound familiar, yet at least there are no extra new copies here. Along with HARD RIOT's great work on producing great Hard Rock music while clinging more to its classic form, their producer, Vagelis Maranis, who made it all happen in his studio, made an amazing work for the release to sound like an oriented late 70s album. Now I suggest that you go and get yourself rocked by "Living On A Fast Lane".