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ROBIN MCAULEY
Alive

Frontiers (2023)
Rating: 9/10

Irishman Robin McAuley (Grand Prix / McAuley Schenker Group / Black Swan) is back with his third full-length solo album, Alive, and proves once again just what a powerhouse vocalist he still is.

McAuley has crafted numerous slabs of delicious melodic rock over the years but with Alive there is a heavier edge, and this is where he really does come into his own and shows his versatility. ‘Bless Me Father’, ‘The Endless Mile’, ‘Dead As A Bone’ and ‘Stronger Than Before’ all provide extra fire, soul and steel, as does the weighty ‘Feel Like Hell’.

There is something for everyone here; the soaring title track and the anthemic designs of the lighter-waving ‘Can’t Go On’ and ‘When The Time Has Come’. However, what really drives this opus, apart from Robin’s fantastic voice, is the fretwork of Andrea Seveso and the crisp production, but you can’t overlook the presence of drummer Nicholas Papapicco and bassist Alessandro Del Vecchio either. In fact, this is quite a formidable line-up that’s able to rock with the hardest and with McAuley at the helm this was always going to be a sure-fire winner – I just didn’t expect it to sound so glorious.

While the likes of fellow elder statesmen Ozzy Osbourne and Alice Cooper often take the credit for marching into their later years, McAuley’s latest opus wipes the floor with such masters. Alive is an astonishing slab of contemporary heavy rock that successfully nods towards the grandiose 80s, but shimmers with class and rattles with swagger while doing so.

Neil Arnold

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