WILL WALLNER & VIVIEN VAIN; it doesn't exactly sound very Blues-Rock, in my opinion, but if that's their name, that's their name. But if you're someone like me who has never heard of these guys before, allow me to give you a little insight. WILL WALLNER & VIVIEN VAIN formed in 2010 as a studio project in Los Angeles and has spent the past 4 years working with some of the most respected musicians in Hard Rock and Heavy Metal from bands including BLACK SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW. Their debut album was released back in 2012 via Metal Mind Productions with guest musicians Derek Shernian (Keys with DREAM THEATER, JOE BONOMASSA and KISS), Carmine Appice (a highly influential drummer, influenced the likes of Nicko McBrain, Joey Kramer and Neil Peart), Jimmy Bain (Bass with DIO, GARY MOORE and RAINBOW), Vinny Appice (Brother to Carmine Appice and drummer with BLACK SABBATH and DIO) and many more, with some of those same names coming back to play on the new WILL WALLNER & VIVIEN VAIN album, "The Battle of Clyst Heath".

Given they're a sighted as a Blues-Rock band, I had to go listen to track 8 immediately and, to my joy, it was a great cover of Gary Moore's, "The Loner". Bravo, Mr Will Wallner for a great performance, but it doesn't quite beat the original. Although, speaking of original, and speaking of an instrumental, track 1, "Blade Runner" is an enjoyable start to the album and it even had a slight Gary Moore-ish feel to it, so my ears were wide open.

Track 2 is "The War of the Roses" which anyone with the slightest knowledge of history will know what this song is about. Honestly, I didn't exactly enjoy the verses that much but the melody the guitars plays during the chorus complements the vocals and lyrics so well to the point it's quite catchy and makes sitting through the verses worth it, especially for the kick ass solo later in the song.

Now, I definitely enjoyed track 3 "Visions of Home" and it starts off with the drums and bass, and I loved the sound of the crunchy, dirty tone on the bass and then comes the guitar, with a tone that just complements the bass so well. The same could be said about the track 4, "Eye of the Storm", its guitar and bass tone just complement each other and the songs overall feel is enjoyable.

Now, every album has their weaker songs and this album isn't an exception, but do keep in mind, weak doesn't always mean bad. So, I'd have to say tracks "Black Moon", the opening track, and title track were probably the weakest songs on this album but I still enjoyed what I heard, and I hope you do too.

Overall, this album is more Hard Rock than Blues-Rock but you can hear the Blues-Rock influences here and there. And I must say it's a great sounding album, great production, great song writing and I'm giving it a big thumbs up.<