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JOE LYNN TURNER
Belly Of The Beast

Mascot Label Group (2022)
Rating: 8/10

I was not prepared for the dazzling thrash-cum-power metal outburst of the title track of this awesome new record from mercurial American rocker Joe Lynn Turner, but once inside this rollicking release you just can’t help but stoke the fires and rock along.

Rich in Gothic splendour, Belly Of The Beast races along with such passion, energy and grandiosity that you are constantly reminded as to how great Turner was and still very much is as a frontman. His tone is clear but powerful as he soars his way through a cauldron of stylish and very much steely tracks, exploding like molten lava as the guitars ramble with such intensity.

That title track just lays waste to everything; the solos frantically fizz, the drums pummel and those bombastic Gothic textures take me back to the glorious and evocative era of 80s metal… but it’s no one-trick pony. ‘Black Sun’ has that Yngwie Malmsteen vibe, chugging with militant aplomb as Turner snarls and scowls, clearly frustrated at the whole pandemic propaganda which is matched by the utterly compelling and theatrical instrumentation which coats this whole grand opus.

You can pluck any track from the air and become entranced by weight and mysticism, and I guess that the involvement of producer Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy / Pain) has enabled such dynamics to shine, even if some of the tracks do become standard heavy metal outpourings (‘Tears Of Blood’ and ‘Rise Up’).

Okay, so maybe I did make the mistake of focusing so heavily on the title track and ‘Black Sun’, but this still remains a more than sturdy heavy metal album that remains slick throughout. Varying tempos are explored with the likes of ‘Tortured Soul’ where there are even dashes of Judas Priest’s Painkiller (1990) to be found in some of the designs, while other tracks are thickened with keyboards. The brooding ‘Dark Night Of The Soul’ brings tension and ‘Don’t Fear The Dark’, at least lyrically anyway, is more uplifting.

It seems strange to say it but this platter has a lot in common with some of Saxon’s heaviest moments, and is an often richly thunderous outing daubed in shades of darkness while scorching the ears through the surprisingly volatile tones of Turner.

With Belly Of The Beast Joe Lynn Turner has shifted from journeyman to juggernaut, and he’s all the better for it.

Neil Arnold

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