Ah sweet classic arena rock. If you lived in America and listened to rock radio during the mid 70’s through mid 80’s, chances are you heard a lot of the following bands: Boston, Foreigner, and especially Journey. Greensboro, North Carolina’s Line Of Fire remembers this time period – and adds another product to the history of the genre with their first album in five years “Momentum”. Overcoming health issues and lineup personnel shifts, these 11 songs feature all the essential elements you would want in feel good stadium rock: bright melodies, guitar hero proportion solos and a rock solid rhythm section pushing the songs into your cranium.

Let’s open up the playbook and see if all the requisite elements balance out. Superior vocalist? Enter Shawn Pelata, he of the multi-octave range. On tracks like “I’ll Be The One Tonight” and “The Fire Never Dies” he has the soaring capability of Steve Perry during his late 70’s/ early 80’s heydays. Knowledgeable and versatile guitarist? Line of Fire doubles the workload with Nikki Dimage and Thomas Clark – who prove adept at throwing down main riffs and solos that border the classic metal and AOR greats. My favorite work including the Toto meets Vandenberg ballad “I’m Crying For You”. Let your hair down summertime fun songwriting? Check out “In The Stone”, and the Pat Benatar-like “Obsession” for permanent good time tracks.

And production values? Well, I’m certain Line Of Fire didn’t have the budget of their idols in the field, but Jamie King keeps the sound of “Momentum” sharp and in your face, bringing out the harmonies and dynamics when necessary. The only surprise I felt was a minor letdown is the closing cover of “Breaking The Chains”. One of the early classic Dokken tracks, Line Of Fire take the song down into a stripped, acoustic ballad which didn’t resonate with my ears compared to the fiery original.

It’s great to see a domestic label like Tribunal focus on great art regardless of its popularity in the here and now. Line Of Fire falls right in with the 30 and 40 something generation who miss sold out arenas and rocking like there’s no tomorrow.

www.myspace.com/lof
www.tribunalrecords.net