"Dysphoria" by Starbreaker is some explosive shit and it damn-near knocked me off my feet when I pressed play and opening track "Pure Evil" blasted forth from the speakers. With the superb vocals of Tony Harnell (TNT, Skid Row) and the strong and charismatic guitar playing of Magnus Karlsson (The Ferrymen), how could this 10-track effort of theirs be anything but hard-hitting and catchy? The record sounds absolutely massive and that coupled with those gigantic chords and dynamic vocals actually remind me of the "Fused" (2005) album by Tony Iommi and Glenn Hughes. "Redeemer of Souls" by the mighty Judas Priest also comes to mind now and again, but the bottom line is that "Dysphoria" is a memorable offering boasting some truly great and well-written tunes such as "Last December", "Fire Away", "How Many More Goodbyes", and the title track.

 

The cover rendition of Judas Priest’s "Starbreaker" is also heaps of fun. Some of the lyrics are a tad stereotypical, but I love the aggressive and energetic vibe of the music, and I also dig the variety of the song material in the sense that it really shows just how talented Mr. Harnell is and what he can do with that incredible voice of his. The rhythm section also deserves a lot of credit for making the album as punchy and huge-sounding as it is.

"Dysphoria" is sharp and bone-crunching hard rock with a modern sheen to it. Great stuff!

 

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