EROL SORA DEMENTED HONOUR CD REVIEW ON ROCK N ROLL UNIVERSE

Erol Sora has been on the scene for quite some time, most notably and recently serving as guitarist for The John Lawton Band(Uriah Heep, Lucifer's Friend), recording 4 albums and 2 live DVD's with the band. When the band decided to go on hiatus at the end of 2004, Sora decided the time was right to record his first solo album, and what an album it is! Combining the hard rocking influences of vintage U.F.O. and bluesy rock with a slight AOR sheen, Sora's come up with a melodic hard rock album that's sure to rank up with the finest of the year.
An unapologetic disciple of Schenker, Blackmore, Gary Moore and John Sykes, the Vancover B.C. born musician has channeled those influences and molded them into an extremely impressive collection of songs. Whether it's the hard driving in your face rock of "Guilty," "Broken Dreams" or the acoustic driven "Along The Way," which surprises after a mellow intro by opening into a full blown rocker with blistering fretwork, these songs have a way off digging into your brain and staying there for days. Sora's obviously spent quite an amount of time honing his craft as a songwriter, as these are actually strong compositions that have hooks galore, and it's quite refreshing to hear nary a dropped down tuning on the entire album, so in this aspect as well it's a glorious return to the sound of late 70's, early 80's British melodic metal. There was a time, and some reading this may remember, but right after the NWOBHM started dying out, and before the so called "Hair Metal" bands took control, there was some real quality music coming out, such as Gary Moore's 'Corridors Of Power,' The Michael Schenker Group's 'M.S.G.' or even fellow Canadian rockers Santers' 'Racing Time'. These were albums which struck a wonderful balance between heaviness and melodicism, songs that had great playing, but weren't overly showboating, the playing fit the songs, and this album is a wonderful throwback to that time. A time where it was the music, not image that mattered, and in this respect Sora has succeeded admirably. If this album were released during that time, it'd be talked about in the same breath as the aforementioned albums. The production, playing, even the image on the album's cover, with the guitarist dressed in denim, holding a Les Paul, would've fit in perfectly. This is music from a bygone era, with not a hint of nu metal, grunge metal, or any other trend that's come along the pike in the ensuing years, so if you're a fan of this classic style of heavy rock you can't go wrong with this one. This is a fantastic collection of well written songs filled with excellent axe work that will one day be looked back on as a classic of the genre. Don't wait until then, buy it now. You'll be glad you did. 5/5 www.erolsora.com