Ireland stikes back. Yes she does! STORMZONE release a beautiful - not to say brilliant - Hard Rock album and Caught In The Act will immediately grab you by the balls if your 'taste' lays on the side of 'classic' WHITESNAKE, 80s DEEP PURPLE/RAINBOW/(early) DEF LEPPARD and STATETROOPER/PRAYING MANTIS/SHY/TOBRUK (with some of American 'Hair Metal'...). OK, most of you only know the first names mentioned but it's never too late to start diggin' a little bit...
The first surprise was to see the man named John Harv Harbison (SWEET SAVAGE, TROJAN) in the lineup. Some kind of NWOBHM this ablum may be? Well, not at all, but it still kick serious ass. This is the band's first album - Harbison also sings with the 80s Rock tribute band ROCK OF AGES and WHITESNAKE tribute act SNAKEBITE - but his 'bang' on STORMZONE's music is more than obvious.
John Harv Harbison has this distinctive 80s voice and shoots to kill; be it the rockin' hurricane of Nervous Breakdown or the sentiment of Hold On To Her Love, he is the ace of the album. More than this, the tunes themselves - could not easily categorize 'em into good/bad ones - see the spark of passionate hard rockers. Yeap, from the very beginning of Spellboumd (mid-tempo tunes always kick ass) to the melodic madness of Crying In The Rain and then to the harmonic 'night' uniqueness of  Beating Of A Heart and then - again - to the frenzy of New World, the story of Caught In The Act is profoundly clear.
The guitar parts are also remarkable. 'Smelling' Ireland from far beyond the sun, the leads are unbelievable, the hooks are charismatic and the songwriting is seminal. The bass lines are heavy and Metal-isque, while a more 'loud' mix in the drum parts someone would expect for such a good album. Now listening again to the dynamics of Call Of The Wild, there's no fuckin' doubt the atmosphere of Caught In The Act will leave WHITESNAKE fans speechless.
Get it while it's a hot! A wonderful album, a great cover (you'll know it's designed by the legendary Rodney Matthews - ASIA, TYGERS OF PAN TANG, PRAYING MANTIS, MAGNUM, NAZARETH, DIAMOND HEAD will confirm so!), an exceptional voice...Already on top of the list for 2007! Missed the British Hard Rockin' Metal of the 80s? No excuse here...
Listening to Tuggin At My Hearstrings again and again...Have mercy Mr.1982...