To say that I was excited, when I heard that Paul Laine and Bruno Ravel were doing a project together, would be the understatement of the year. I have been a long time fan of Paul's early solo work as well as his work with Danger Danger. I was really happy to see that the two had joined forces with current D2 guitarist Rob Marcello, to do a project called The Defiants. The Defiants is basically D2 minus vocalist Ted Poley and drummer Steve West. Though it is obvious why Poley was not involved, I was surprised not to see West involved. It would have been a D2 reunion of sorts, but under a new name, which is justly so.
The Defiants, is pretty much what you would expect. It is a mix of early Paul Laine, mixed with his more melodic era of D2. The songs are catchy, but lack some of the punch I was hoping for. Don't get me wrong, I like this record, but was hoping for something a little heavier. The is a nice variety on the CD, with a nice mix of up tempo and mid tempo rockers, with a few ballads thrown in for good measure.
There are some really strong tracks on the record like the When the Lights Go Down. It starts off with a really catchy riff, and some nice rip-age from Marcello. It is a mid-tempo rocker with one of those catchy choruses, that will stay in your head for days. It is followed up by the killer Waiting on a Heartbreak, which is catchy as hell. The next track to stick out was the ballad Save Me Tonight. Laine sings his ass off on this one. It may be my favorite ballad of the year so far. It reminds me of Simply Out of Reach from James LaBrie's solo effort back in 2012 Elements of Persuasion. Soft but powerful.
This album has really grown on me with each listen. Not only are the songs strong, but the musicianship is strong as well. I knew that Rob Marcello was a solid guitarist, but this guy friggin rips on this album. Check out the solo on Take Me Back. Solid performance. As I said, this one is strong, but there are a few hiccups like the overly poppy Runaway and Lil' Miss Rock N Roll. Runaway is so drenched in syrup, that I thought that it was either a Katy Perry or Taylor Swift cover. Sorry boys, but not diggin this track. All in all, this is a party rock album, that would be fun at any kegger or get together. This will be a fun one to jam to this summer, go get it.
Bottom Line: Great 80's tinged melodic hard rock. Even though it gets a little candy coated at times, but fortunately, the end result is solid enough to take away some of the sweetness. You will need to give this one several spins before passing judgement, I'm glad I did.
Standout Tracks: Save Me Tonight, Waiting on a Heartbreak, We All Fall Down and Take Me Back.
-Ragman is hoping this isn't a one off.