Black Rose Maze, which is spearheaded by the talented vocalist Rosa Laricchiuta who hails from the beautiful city of Montreal, is a current-sounding hard rock act whose tunes revel in big choruses, prominent keyboards, and heavenly female vocals. The whole thing is rather polished and professional-sounding but also a tad generic and uneventful.

Even though “Black Rose Maze” is somewhat predictable and hardly offers any huge surprises, a couple of compositions do stand out, namely “Laws of Attraction” featuring Jeff Scott Soto, which oozes class and coolness, and the infectiously catchy “Let Me Go”. In the overall perspective though, the record fails to stir the emotions or captivate the listener. Laricchiuta’s vocals are strong and vibrant throughout but most of the song material lacks depth and substance.

This self-titled offering has a modern sheen to it and I dig its melancholic undertones and subtle symphonic touches, and it is neither badly written nor awful by any stretch of the imagination, but it is simply too unremarkable to warrant repeated listens. In short, this one is musically and stylistically cohesive but ultimately also forgettable, which is frustrating, but there is potential to be found here and some good ideas, so it will be interesting to see what the future holds for the project.

https://www.facebook.com/Blackrosemaze/