GIOELI-CASTRONOVO – Set the World on Fire
- Posted on 30-07-2018
This glorious 12-track affair by the two incredibly talented gentlemen that are Deen Castronovo (Dead Daisies, Revolution Saints, ex-Ozzy Osbourne) and Johnny Gioeli (Hardline) is perhaps one of the best and most well-written melodic rock/hard rock/AOR outputs to see the light of day in 2018 yet. The two of them worked together more than 25 years ago when they joined forces for Hardline’s “Double Eclipse” record, but truth be told, “Set the World on Fire” is actually more captivating and memorable than the former.
“Set the World on Fire” is utterly solid and hardly ever loses momentum. The songs have some marvelous hooks to them and pretty much all of them are insanely enjoyable to listen to. The ballads are also more captivating than those that one usually associated with melodic hard rock and AOR, which is a huge plus, and the more driven and energetic hard rock tunes lack neither punch nor power. The title track and “Ride of Your Life” are the perfect examples of that.
Needless to say, the musicianship is excellent and the dual vocals are stellar, but the production is awesome too in that it is organic and vibrant and pretty fucking far removed from the glossy, sterile, and lifeless productions that similar bands have a tendency to opt for. Musically and stylistically, there are nods and parallels to Revolution Saints, Hardline, Journey, and Pride of Lions, but the Gioeli-Castronovo combo possesses a little more grit and raw nerve (not to mention that it is less polished) than those bands, which is obviously a great thing.
This is a strong, focused, and riveting piece of work that all lovers of the aforementioned genres ought to check out.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5VWFLtE3yT7zVqjR0doDoJ