ROOK ROAD is a German five-piece band that uses the term Diversity Rock to describe their sound. Combining AOR, Hard, Classic, and Progressive Rock, they create a blend of tones and textures that is reminiscent of almost every era of Rock n Roll that has hit the airwaves in the last 50 years. Their debut, self0titled album hit the streets on November 11, 2022, via SAOL Records. The album opens with "Talk Too Much," a treatise on how some people just forget to be quiet, speaking when the best option would be silence. Not everyone wants the opinions in your head. It has a nice, chugging guitar riff with a ton of Jon Lord influenced Hammond Organ. This is a modern-day Classic Rock song.

ROOK ROAD is all over the place musically on this record, in all the best ways. "Sometimes" uses strings and piano to create a forlorn sound and atmosphere to bring to life one of the best melancholy songs of the year. This is a throwback Power Ballad, channeling the 80s with beauty and precision. The heavier interlude is surrounded by 80s greatness, mixed in to create a new style of Power Ballad that should be the standard for the Rocking 20s.

"Romeo" opens with blowing wind before the percussion and guitar kicks in. this leads to a heavy dose of Hammond Organ that then leads to a tapered rhythm through the first verse, picking back up for the chorus. There are some Progressive Rock elements in this piece, highlighted by the shifting phrases and tempos used in the verses and chorus. You also get some of the better gritty vocals as Patrik shows the entire range he possesses.

Continuing the Hammond-heavy tone, "Kinda Glow" opens a bit like "Perfect Strangers," the DEEP PURPLE comeback album from 1985 and one of the best comeback records of all time. "Sam Rogers" has a serious CINDERELLA feel to the riff, showing the Blues Rock influence from the 80s as well. All things rock are on the table for this band. They will write what they want and it will sound like something you know while also feeling fresh and new. The one outlier on this album is probably "Egyptian Girl." There is a bit of a 70s ballad vibe to it, but this could also be from the 50s. it is an incredibly diverse song, covering a huge swath of history with sounds and tones. It gives ROOK ROAD a unique sound that is again, both familiar and unique at the same time.

You can hear the 70s/80s influence all over this record, but true to their word, they are a true Diversity Rock outfit, adding in Modern Rock and AOR styles and blending in Symphonic Rock just to show they are more than just a single style. From start to finish, this record is a bit of everything, all done really well. The theme is coherent and the style is consistent. ROOK ROAD knows who they are and how they want to sound.