Search - Winter Rose :: Winter Rose

Powerful vocals and melodic metal with loads of hooks

martite | 09/10/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"the current Dream Theater singer flexes his vocal muscles in this well crafted album. Song after song the talent of this man hits you square in the face"

James LaBrie's pre-Dream Theater material

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 08/17/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Released in 1989 (and reissued by InsideOut in 1997), the self-titled debut album from Winter Rose features none other than Dream Theater's James LaBrie on vocals.



This album has probably freaked out its fair share of Dream Theater fans. We tend to be an obsessive lot, and when we hear that (insert Dream Theater member here) performed on an album, we usually chase that album down. That's the only reason for most people to hunt down a copy of Winter Rose. I think that a lot of the serious progressive metal fans who pick this album up are going to be sorely disappointed.



Winter Rose is not prog by any stretch of the imagination. This is a total hair metal album from start to finish. It's essentially Bon Jovi's New Jersey with a more unique vocalist (seriously, does anyone sound quite like LaBrie?). I love this kind of music, so I got a kick out of LaBrie's work in a different musical style. I'm guessing he never had to leave the stage for an 18-minute guitar and drum solo when he was in this band!



Overall, Winter Rose is a solid hair metal album. It's upbeat and melodic, and has a good mix of party anthems and power ballads. If you like this kind of music, you'll probably enjoy Winter Rose. If you're a progressive metal fan tracking this down to complete a Dream Theater collection, then you're not likely to spin this disc more than once before filing it away."