If
you enjoyed the 80's poodle-hair rock music and
the glam-rock style fronted by bands such as: Bon
Jovi, Guns 'n' Roses, Warrant, Poison, Motely
Crue, Slaughter, Extreme and Steelheart and cheer
the time hair-metal ruled the Strip, you will
absolutely love Youngblood!
This is like a time-capsule that has been isolated
since 1989 and opens up now like a Pandora's box. Out of my
speakers stream groovy '80s rock that sounds
so typical of the time, and it feels so fresh and
refreshing that I get chills.
Youngblood worked tirelessly for nine months to
generate forty-five tracks that were mixed and
mastered by Diehl Productions. The label approved
sixteen of them to be released on the bands first
album with the others held back in reserve for a future
releases. Originally recorded in 1989, those sixteen songs are
finally seeing the light of day in 2012. 'No Retreat' is a
collection of hard rocking tunes with all the mandatory
ingredients hard rock fans can wish for...
I must honor Eönian
Records for their commitment to re-publish old
(almost) forgotten 80's bands that stood just
on the doorstep to the breakthrough, when grunge
smashed their rock-star dreams. In Youngblood, I
find a super vocalist in 'Bobby Sisk', which makes
'No Retreat' to one of my absolute favorite
records this fall. He has a high and stable pitch
in his voice that is rare nowadays. Bobby has a
voice hugely reminiscent of Mark Slaughter and
with a wide range and a lung capacity that makes me
extremely impressed. The songs are bombastic and
have the right groove and energy. With dazzling
guitars and heavy artillery in the rhythm section,
this is a very pleasant retro-journey for nearly an
full hour.
Party
tunes mixed with several heavy rock tracks and
some slower acoustic songs provide the near
perfect album that should appeal to those
fans (like myself), who like the easygoing and fun
filled times Youngblood reflects in their music!
The only negative thing I have to say, is that there
are a couple of weaker filler tracks, which is the
reason why the overall score is just below the
magic 90 mark. With a killer debut album like
this, I'm waiting for the rest of their songs from
the good old days.
Best tracks:
"Pump It Up", "Sock It To Me", "Shot of You",
"Taste of Your Lovin'" and "Back In My
Life".
Line-up:
Bobby Sisk - Lead Vocals
Jeff Diehl - Guitars & Vocals
Eric Saylors - Guitars & Vocals
Danny William - Keyboards & Vocals
Kyle Koker - Bass & Vocals
Kevin Kale - Drums
