Besides being the front man for Christian metal group Stryper vocalist,guitarist and songwriter Michael Sweet has quite a number of solo album to his name. Since that last impressive such release I'm Not Your Sacrifice from 2014 Michael Sweet has recorded another Stryper album Fallen and also in 2015 he impressed once more having teamed up with guitarist George Lynch (Lynch Mob, ex. Dokken) for the debut Sweet & Lynch album Only To Rise. That brings us to this year and what is Sweet's heaviest solo album thus far One Sided War.
Anyone who has followed Michael Sweet will know what an able guitarist he is, and on One Sided War he plays all rhythm parts and also some solos, for the remainder he has recruited some very talented players. As a result the very capable line-up on this release includes the guitarists Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake) and Ethan Brosh (The Ethan Brosh Band ), along with bass player John O'Boyle and drummer Will Hunt (Evanescence). As a result the guitar work on One Sided War is just so good and the bass playing and drumming also deserves mention as do those wonderful vocals as Sweet does it once again. With many different topics it's not the religion focused album some may expect, take "Radio" for example which looks at rock stars pretending to be someone that they are not, and making the switch to country music in order to have that hit song. There are so many quality tracks on One Sided War like the vibrant rocker "Bizarre" that has the band fired up and rocking hard on the energetic opening track, whilst title track "One Sided War" slows it down and is very catchy with a memorable chorus. "Golden Age" is another lively heavy hitting track and would sound right at home on a Stryper album, the ultra addictive melodic rocker "Only You" has you hooked promptly and there's a fetching and powerful ballad titled "Who Am I". You may also notice below that the song "Can't Take This Life" appears twice the difference being the second version has Moriah Formica on vocals and she does a fine job. Michael Sweet's seventh solo album One Sided War is top release, and fans of his prior work will find a lot to like here, and so will those on the lookout for some great melodic classic/modern hard rock and metal.
Track Listing
1. Bizarre
2. One Sided War
3. Can't Take This Life
4. Radio
5. Golden Age
6. Only You
7. I Am
8. Who Am I
9. You Make Me Wanna
10. Comfort Zone
11. One Way Up
12. Can't Take This Life
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
