CAGE9 – Illuminator
- by Matt Coe
- Posted on 22-08-2016
Modern hard rock with pop sensibilities, there’s a lot of Disturbed meets Shinedown oriented material on this album from California’s Cage9 with "Illuminator". Vocalist/ guitarist Evan Rodaniche has a definitive radio-friendly range, which along with an intuitive rhythmic nature to the material on hand puts "Starry Eyes" and the sultry "Martyr" into aural connectivity from speakers to audience members in a nanosecond. The electronic and cyber-oriented vocal effects for the ballad "Ghost" differentiate the heavier material for certain.
Being in the right frame of mind is key for Cage9 in terms of appeal – they aren’t exactly breaking barriers in terms of style, but there’s no deny the quartet’s melodic hooks and comfort in the rock genre.