When I was listen the first time to
'Omerta' in 2012 the hair on my arms
began to raise, my spinal cord began to
shrink and I felt an incredible energy
and power that was released by Sir
Russell Allen's awesome sidetrack to
Symphony X: Adrenaline Mob! It was one
of the top albums that year, no
discussions about that! I was putting my
hot coffee in the wrong throat when I
heard that Mike Portnoy had left the
band and had been replaced by Twisted
Sisters drummer AJ Pero.....What!?
Mr. Portnoy was the foundation of the
rhythm section and how has the sound
changed with this replacement? I can
calm everyone, because AJ is actually a
monster behind the drum set. No one on this
planet can fully replace Mike
Portnoy that goes without saying, but the groovy, slammin',
powerful and raw metal is still the main
sound. In the opening track 'Mob is
Back' most of my fears are swept away by
the master voice of Russell Allen. Mike Orlando
on guitar and John Moyer on the bass are driving
this metal tank with harshness like two big rock
ponders. My big
question is why the hell did AJ Pero
waste his time with Twisted Sisters
instead of bloom out with a real heavy
metal band (like Adrenaline Mob) all of those
years?? He is playing like a young, hungry metal
maniac! Awesome drum work.
In 'Come on Get Up' Russell shout//sings
the orders "In your Face/Come On/Get Up"
and heavy rhythms is really unmistakable
from the unique Adrenaline Mob sound. In
the hard rocking 'Dearly Departed'
the tones are a little gentler and smoother
and it is Russell's vocals which
completely owns that song. In the
wonderful and sensitive power ballad
'Behind These Eyes' Adrenaline Mob
surprises me with some assault guitar
riffs and great vocals. The
characteristic rhythmic hard bass riffs
in 'Let It Go' and the freak out guitar
riffing from Orlando is sweeping my feet
away. Sir Allen is working his heart out
in the up-tempo song 'Feel the
Adrenaline' and Orlando and Moyer are
playing like mad men. Brilliant track with
a ton of energy! The title track 'Men of
Honor' is a nice melodic metal track.
The second ballad on the album is
'Crystal Clear' and is a 100% acoustic
track. The heavy and harsh sound is back
with 'House of Lies' and
'Judgement Day', which are two solid metal
tracks. The closing song 'Fallin' to
Pieces' is another down-tempo track, but
has powerful lyrics and masterful vocal
performance from Russell.
A magnificent follow-up to their debut
album 'Omerta' and even if I miss
Portnoy's drumming on this album, it is still
a disc in the same level. If you bought 'Omerta' and like what you heard, you can
invest your money on 'Men of Honor'
also. Great studio production and eleven
strong tracks!
It's nice to have the Mob back!
Russell Allen - Vocals
Mike Orlando - Guitar/Vocals
John Moyer - Bass
AJ Pero - Drums
