Do you know what a super group is? Like a superband? Is usually when well acclaimed musicians from famous bands get together to make another band. BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION comes to mind with Glenn Hughes and Joe Bonamassa. THE WINERY DOGS with Ritchie Kotzen and Billy Sheehan, and many others. We have another supergroup that was created in Japan more than 2 decades ago. This is a project from the accomplished guitar player Tak Matsumoto that with the help of other accomplished musicians from MR BIG to NIGHT RANGER and WITHESNAKE to name a few, that created the band TMG (Tak Matsumoto Group) that is releasing their second album after 20 years called TMG II (guess the name of the first album).'

I do understand how hard it is to have all the musicians from other bands to get time on their busy schedule to participate in a supergroup album, but 20 years is too much. Therefore, TMG gives a younger touch on tracks like “Eternal Flames “ with the participation of BABYMETAL and “The Story of Love” with the singer LISA. However, the core sound of the band is a soft  good old Hard Rock with a lot of melodies as you can hear in “Crash Down Love” that starts the album. As a supergroup normally entails, the musicianship is top notch not only by guitarist “Tak Matsumoto” with his solos, but also the other guys in the band. The bass player Jack Blades is a well known name when it comes to Hard Rock having played for DAMN YANKEES and NIGHTRANGER. I would say that the general sound of the album reminds you exactly of bands like this.

Tracks like “Color in the World” and also the good “Jupiter And Mars” reminds you of bands that played Hard Rock with romantic touches and sometimes suffering vocals in the past. Hard Rock, but not exactly hard. The singer is no less than Eric Martin from MR BIG. One of the best rock voices around and that I sometimes compare with Joe Lynn Turner, not because of the same voice, but because of the craftsmanship in the singing as you can hear on “My Life”. We have also an uncredited keyboardist that starts the good “Endless Sky” that is another banger. I know that other musicians in the band may vary like in the drumming department that was once held by Matt Sorum from GNRs fame, but now this may have changed and I do not know who played the drums. All songs in this album are meticulously crafted and the arrangements are well thought out with melodies that will stick in your head like in the groovy “Dark Island Woman” and “Faithful Now”, that is the closest that this album gets from producing a ballad. Ok, it is a ballad.

The band goes kind of Heavy Country Rock on “The Great Divide” with some sliding guitars for better taste. The album ends with “Guitar Hero” that I thought it was that track to show off the guitar player, but I was surprised by another good and melodic track. There is not much to say about groups like this. Just buy it and enjoy.