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OUTLOUD
Let’s Get Serious

AOR Heaven (2014)
Rating: 6/10

Let’s Get Serious is the second album from Greek-American melodic rockers Outloud who have been on the rock ’n’ roll circuit since recording their debut platter, We’ll Rock You To Hell & Back Again, which emerged in 2009. The successful opus was followed in 2012 by an EP (More Catastrophe), and now the talented quintet release their second album.

Outloud features the line-up of vocalist Chandler Mogel, drummer Kostas Milonas, bassist Sverd and the twin guitar attack of Jim Scordilis and Bob Katsionis, who also plays keys respectively – Scordilis and Milonas joined following the album’s recording, the pair absent from Let’s Get Serious.

Now, I’m rarely swayed by such a glossy presentation as this because I tend to find that modern metal can be all too glistening on the eyes and ears, but this 12-track offering isn’t too bad once you let it wash over you. Even so, it does have its flaws, mainly – in my opinion anyway – Mogel’s vocals which, although crystal clear and powerful, at times seem out of place and give the record a rather theatrical feel.

Throughout this album there is a selection of soaring and melodramatic tunes which don’t always sit right with me, despite the strong guitar work from Katsionis. For instance, while opener ‘Death Rock!’ features a killer performance percussion-wise and also remains sturdy with its riffs and solos, ‘I Was So Blind’ just reeks of too much cheese for my liking with its immediately melodic yet corny strains. Yes, the track is catchy, but for me it sums up the modern metal movement with those keyboard tinkles and theatrical vocals, especially as the track throbs into the line “I was naïve, I must confess…” before that chorus, which has all the qualities of a Eurovision entry! Sorry guys.

I won’t upset any of you death metal freaks out there by telling you that Nile’s George Kollias (drums) appears on this opus, but if you can stick with it you’ll still find some catchy tunes here – my favourite being ‘Toy Soldiers’ (which includes a guest guitar solo from Adrenaline Mob’s Mike Orlando), which proves that the outfit can rock hard with the best of them if they put their mind to it.

‘Toy Soldiers’ features a solid bass performance, and exists as a power metal gallop where Mogel’s vocals are more effective when put alongside a racier framework. This has more in common with a Sebastian Bach track rather than anything pomp-fuelled, but the track seems isolated on the record, swamped by those keyboard-laced and pop-fuelled toe-tappers. ‘All In Vain’ is okay in parts if a tad generic as a modern metal track, while the acoustic-lead ‘It Really Doesn’t Matter’ acts as a nice, subtle shift, and again seems to complement Mogel’s voice better than those cheesier rhythms.

The negative aspects of the opus are those steered toward a cheesier side; ‘One More Time’ with its somehow irritating chorus, the over-emotional ‘Bury The Knife’ and the unnecessary cover of OMD’s ‘Enola Gay’ which – for all of its effort – just remains bland.

So, the content of Let’s Get Serious rarely lives up to its title, making this outing a mixed bag of power rock pomp, sickly sweet keyboard injections and the occasional solid stomper. I can see the commercial appeal of the album but am rarely moved by its varying emotions.

Neil Arnold

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