Search - Russell Allen :: Russell Allens Atomic Soul

Seriously hard and rockin'

Cory Gaunt | Bellingham, WA | 05/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to admit that when I bought this cd, I was scared that I wasn't going to like it. As pretty much everyone who is checking out this cd knows, Russell Allen is the vocalist for the neo-classical prog metal outfit Symphony X and is one of the best in business (If you haven't heard of Symphony X, shame on you). That said, I think that every Symphony X fan could agree with me that when it was anounced that Russ was doing a solo cd...how should I say...I really didn't want it to suck and ruin his credibility as a musician. (Sorry Russ but how was I supposed to know that you could write music too???).



Luckily for all you readers out there, you can let out a giant sigh of relief and purchase this cd as soon as possible. I preordered this album and somehow it was sent to me 6 days before its release, and it has not left my cd player. The cd is a hard rock jewel that sounds like nothing you've ever heard before. With its often bluesy/southern feel all the way to songs with almost a SX sounds, this album shows a versitility and writing ability that will amaze you. Of course the vocal performance is staggering and doesn't hold back one bit. I can easily say that this is the best rock album (not metal...so SX doesn't count) I have heard in years and years. The guitar riffs and grooves are extremly catchy and pleasant to the ear, the production quality is superb, no song goes without a rockin' solo of some sort, and the songs are just put together well.



After listening to this album at least a dozen times in the last six days, I discovered that there are a few things you need to watch out for when listing to this cd. For one, do not let the first song on the album lead you to believe anything about the rest of the album. Although most songs are awesome, there are a few that still haven't grown on me. Russ often uses cheesy lyrics and sings with a different and not always appealing sound (for example when he sings "blackout" in the chorus of Blackout, it sounds like Zakk Wylde). These are minor fallbacks...very minor...compared to the overall quality of this album, which is why I gave it five stars still. This is seriously a great ablum that will stay in your cd player for a long time...it shows no signs of leaving mine."

What a solo album should be..... graet voice Russell

mau | Mexico | 06/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Let's be honest this is a fantastic album and really an amazing surprise 2 me. As I read on other reviews this is complete different from Symphony X's sound and yes it is but there are song where you can hear Symphony X's incomparable sound and to me that is a fantastic combination.



Russell is one of my top vocalist (one step ahead are James Labrie and DC Cooper) and i love what he offers in every Symphony X's but as a solo album I was expecting something different and he gives something very hard rockish and to me being a fan of metal bands is a great offering



My personal favorites on this album are ANGEL, THE DISTANCE and of course WE WILL FLY (dedicated to his wife)I really love what he does on the album, that he plays a lot of instruments and not only focus on the power vocals but what makes better this album is that even though it is in fact a hard rock album it still captures the essence of Symphony X prog style



Believe me if you like Russell voice you will find this album phenomenal in a vocal way, Russell proves to be a very versatile vocalist



Excellent offering¡¡¡

"

Hard rock done like no one knew it could be

David M. Wesner | Albuquerque, N.M., USA | 05/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"People mocked J.S. Bach for writing Baroque music after it was no longer the hip thing to do. I don't think anyone will do the same to Russell Allen, even though he's written the best album of '70s hard rock that didn't come out in the '70s. "Atomic Soul" is a monster of a release - heartfelt, hard-hitting and FUN, with terrific performances all around, but dominated at all times by Allen's freight-train of a voice. This release exudes confidence, and the guts required to display a broad range of influences. "Saucey Jack" is good ol' good-time rock-n-roll, written to swill cheap wine to along with "a fast girl or two." "We Will Fly," on the other hand, is a beautiful, powerful ballad celebrating love's ability to defeat adversity (my wife and I will have been married ten years this June, and this quickly became the "our song" we never had). I came to this album as a fan of Allen's "real" band, Symphony X, and by rights I should hate "Atomic Soul." I can't, though, because with every spin of this disc, the smile on my face grows bigger. This should appeal to people all across the musical spectrum, but especially those of us who grew up with BTO, Bad Company and early Foreigner. Allen does many things those bands didn't do, but the things they did, he just plain does better."