ST. ELMO'S FIRE has risen again after years of languishing in a nearly endless limbo. From 1979 to 1992, the band reigned supreme in California's music scene, calling Sacramento, L.A, and San Francisco home, never settling in one place. A frequent act at top clubs such as the Whiskey A-Go-Go, the Roxy, and the Troubador, ST. ELMO'S FIRE set the whole Sunset Strip ablaze in the mid 80s. While their sound was a little more aggressive than most acts on the Strip, L.A. still loved them, and they gained a lot of loyal fans. Then, after a tour in 1992, the band dissolved, with founder Jeff Jones going off to VAMP LE STAT, and Kris Gustofson joining TRAUMA. As of last year, ST. ELMO'S FIRE has been burning bright once again with Jeff Jones at the helm of lead vocals, replacing original singer Zane Lazer.

From the opening riffs of "We Will Not Die" and "Rise" off their fifth studio album "Evil Never Sleeps", ST. ELMO'S FIRE proves their fire has not diminished after all these years. Jeff Jones' high velocity riffs are nothing short of intense, tangling and unraveling chords in his solos like he doesn't care. Rolling thunder basslines introduce "Lord of Thunder" an aggressive love song to the thrill of the open road. The song features a simple yet seriously catchy chorus that you can't help but sing to yourself even after the song is long over.

"Evil Never Sleeps/Doomsday" features chords that are positively Doom in nature with a cold and calculating tempo juxtaposed irregularly next to Jones' string eviscerations. A couple of my favorites are "Soultaker" and "Unslaved", both having addictive chorus and pre-chorus lines and pulse-like basslines. "Asleep in the Never" is a song about drifting in an uncertain limbo, which, now, sounds like a fitting anthem describing the fate of ST. ELMO'S FIRE the past several years. ST. ELMO'S FIRE features classic 80s Hair Metal anthems, the kind of OG song material that inspired countless teens to pick up their own instruments in their parent's garages in hopes to achieve the same greatness for themselves. "Evil Never Sleeps" is happy to revive their old sound with crisp clean production and a more defined sound. Live for the thunder and damn us all, may ST. ELMO'S FIRE light a fire inside you.