Search - Starbreaker :: Starbreaker

Impressive Debut

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 06/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a big fan of vocalist Tony Harnell, so when I heard he was working on a new project, I knew I had to check it out. The band - called Starbreaker - finds the former TNT vocalist teamed with Last Tribe guitarist Magnus Karlsson, ARK drummer John Macaluso, and bassist Fabrizio Grossi.



As much as I love Harnell's work with TNT, I think his voice works better in a harder-edged environment. The Westworld albums are a great example, as is the debut Starbreaker album. It's very much a melodic hard rock album (it's a Frontiers release after all), but it crosses into metal territory on numerous occasions. It even has some progressive metal elements added for good measure. The musicianship is top-notch, and Tony's unique voice sounds as good as it ever has. Magnus Karlsson, who wrote much of the material as well as handling production duties, is one of the best behind the scenes guys in the melodic rock genre, and he really shines here. This is an excellent album from start to finish, and should be counted among the best releases of 2005.



Starbreaker should appeal to fans of melodic hard rock bands like Pink Cream 69 and of course TNT, and fans of melodic progressive metal bands like Vanden Plas and Vanishing Point should enjoy it as well.

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