SHAKRA are back and hungry again! reads a comment on the back sleeve of the promo copy of the CD. And I wonder: how many fans are ready to feed SHAKRA's hunger, the time the band has let itself (or is forced to) play a lot along the likes of their fellow Swiss-men GOTTHARD? I do not remember their previous album being so GOTTHARD-ish (whose originality is - in any way - under strong dispute).
SHAKRA like to let it roll. Make Your Day and The One run smoothly and wisely simplified. On the other side, there's Play With Fire and Vertigo to stand up for your mainstream Euro Hard/Melodic Rock needs. As the album goes on for the 5th time, the conclusion is rather obvious: Infected has easily been written under specific planning/marketing/management directives. Really, everything seems to be so organized, pre-seen and careful that no air of personality would some witness in sixteen tracks of pure cleverness and less of attitude.
Now listening to the band's previous album again (Fall - 2005), the comparison is strongly logical. SHAKRA - without denying any of its initial playing, don't get me wrong! - has 'evaluated' its music to how melodic Hard Rock albums are heard, appreciated and bought in Europe anno 2006/2007. So: grab a large bowl, pour in lots of Lipservice (and the latest Domino Effect...) ingredients, add the fat guitars of John Norum in the reunited EUROPE worx and 'attach' some sweety harsh vocals in the vein of FAIR WARNING or (late) MAD MAX. The Love Will Find A Way ballad is so sweet it could turn you becoming diabetic...
Vertigo is the 'brother' of Anytime, Anywhere. The review could be 'squeezed' into this one and only sentence. I enjoyed Fall more; dunno the reason and don't wanna find out why, eventually. Infected is not bad at all: polished production, excellent musicianship, serious vocals by Mark Fox...but if I changed labels with a GOTTHARD album you wouldn't even notice the difference. If this doesn't bother you...