Search - Keel :: The Final Frontier

A forgotten classic.

Stargazer | New York | 05/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Keels 3rd studio album is another great forgotten album. This is the second Keel album i got after loving the self titled album. This album has a much more commercial sound than the first 2 Keel albums but still has some great rocking songs. This band sounds a lot like Dokken and this album was by far there most succesful peaking at #53 on the billboard charts and having 2 minor hits.



1.The Final Frontier- 10/10 A great rocker with a great intro. The riff rocks and the chorus is excellent. Ron Keel's vocals are great as always. The soft melodic bridge is great and Ron Keel's awesome scream leads into a great shredding solo. A classic!



2.Rock And Roll Animal- 10/10 Another great rocker with a good intro. The riff is great and the chorus rocks aswell. Ron Keel's vocals are strong once again. More great shredding too in the great dual guitar solo. Another classic! Jaime St. James of Black N Blue contributes backround vocals to this song too.



3.Because the Night- 10/10 A great cover song! I've never heard the original but this version is excellent! The song is lighter more melodic song than the first 2 but it's still great! Another great guitar solo, this solo is slower and more melodic and fits the song perfectly. The second solo is excellent aswell. Excellent vocal performance by Ron Keel too!



4.Here Today, Gone Tomorrow- 8/10 Another good song. This has a real commercial feel to it and isn't as strong as the first 3 songs. The chorus is strong and the solo is good but it doesn't measure up to the other songs.



5.Arm and a Leg- 9/10 A good rocker. The riff is good and the chorus is excellent. Ron Keel's vocals are great and the guitar solo shreds. A good song although not as good as the classics on the album.



6.Raised on Rock- 10/10 A great rocking song. Backround vocals by Michael Des Barres and rythym guitar by Joan Jett. A great chorus and an awesome solo.



7.Just Another Girl- 6/10 A decent poppy song similar to the Dokken song Burning Like A Flame. The chorus is pretty good but the solo is very good. I'd consider this song a filler.



8.Tears of Fire- 10/10 A great power ballad. One of the best I've ever heard. Ron Keel's vocals are excellent and the chorus is great. A beautiful song and the lyrics are great. A great harmonized guitar solo too. Mitch Perry plays rythym guitar on this song too. A classic that should have been a bigger hit than it was. This ballad reminds me of Dokken.



9.Nightfall- 10/10 A great short acoustic instrumental. This is just acoustic guitars and done in a classical style.



10.No Pain, No Gain- 10/10 A great fast rocker with an excellent riff and great vocals. The chorus is great aswell and Gregg Giuffria contributes backround vocals to this song. An excellent dual guitar solo with some great shredding. A classic!



This album was released in 1986 when hair metal dominated the charts with Ozzy Osbourne's The Ultimate Sin, Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet and Van Halen's 5150 topping the charts. Overall a great melodic metal album similar with some high profile guest musicians. Fans of Dokken, The Scorpions Quiet Riot and 80's metal in general should own this.



Ron Keel- Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards

Marc Ferrari- lead Guitar, Vocals

Bryan Jay- Lead Guitar, Vocals

Dwain Miller- Drums, Vocals

Kenny Chaisson- Bass, Vocals"

Misery

Bluerabbit | USA | 01/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the best album from Keel ever! It contains an awesome cover of "Because the Night" a tune penned by Bruce Springsteen, and it also features the Marc Ferrari classic "Rock n Roll Animal". This is one of two Keel albums I'd ever recommend the other being their self-titled follow-up from 1987.



There is NO other release that sounds like this production from that era in Heavy Metal History.

So I Highly Recommend this album. It's worth any amount."

Good album

M. D. Fonseca | Thunder | 06/15/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"THIS ALBUM IS PLAIN FUN, and with great guitar playing by Marc Ferrari and Bryan Jay. By the way, The Boss did not "cover" this song also. The Boss wrote it!"