A lot of people mistakenly make statements that Rock N Roll is dead or that no more bands are interested to work, while in reality, it’s just the venues and promoters who’ve shifted interest toward other genres. A couple of years ago composer/bassist/vocalist Todd Magunson reunited with his old friend and long-time musical collaborator Terri Lawrenz.
Together they created the project Blond Viper with Eldon Fisher on guitars and Rich Dahl on Drums. The latest Blond Viper record is entitled “Boom”, and I had the pleasure of listening to it and reviewing it before its release. Let’s dissect the album’s 15 tracks and see what they’re all about.
1- Tear The House Down
Right from the start, you can hear Magnuson and Lawrenz harmonizing their vocals beautifully with one another. The bass lines are strong and tie the guitars and drums together, while the vocals soar above this classically-styled and nostalgic brand of hard rock. A wonderful opener indeed.
2- Go
This track pays homage to 70s anthemic styles of rock, with chunky guitars and screeching high vocals that reminded me of Udo Dirkschneider and Bon Scott, and the female vocals harmonizing over them bring that beautiful contrast that accentuates the melody.
3- Secret Box
This one is highly reminiscent of 80s Anthemic arena rock, because of its drumming patterns and Awesome hooks.
4- Time For Love
A bass-heavy and highly romantic classic track. The production truly shines on this one, to be honest. This song is for the fans of Aerosmith and Judas Priest in their Turbo Lover era. The sound is super electric and poppy yet so melodic, and that’s what makes the song a true charmer.
5- Sometimes Yesterday
A mid-tempo power ballad with clean and acoustic guitars. A nice breather between the heavier numbers.
6- Boom
With the title track, they bring back the melodic verses, the pumping pre-chorus, and the larger-than-life chorus. A fantastic melody to be the title track.
7- Life
A relatively shorter track than its predecessors, yet fun and melodic. Its guitar solo is definitely the cherry on top.
8- Lost In The Wilderness
A much heavier and more percussive track, with chunky guitars once again.
9- Release The Kraken
The best vocal performance on the entire album for me. The bassline makes this borderline Hard Rock/Heavy Metal, and this is what made the song appeal to me so much.
10- Everything
This is probably the most Alternative/2000s-sounding track. I really love the light and bright tone of the clean guitars and how extended the melodies are.
11- Rock The Boat
A total headbanging fest. With its big melodic chorus, it reminded me of Bon Jovi and the Scorpions.
12- In My Bones
Ominous and dark vocals with soft verses that have clean guitars and perfectly-timed rimshots. I really love the atmosphere they gave to this one.
13- You’re In The Way
A synth-heavy and futuristic-sounding number, yet its verses and the guitar solo are extremely technical.
14- Feel The Pain
The technicality and metal-esque riffage continue. I couldn’t get enough of the tasty licks and riffs of this amazing track and I repeated it more than once.
15- Alone
This track mixes bright melodic guitars with cool technical ones. I really love how they chose the track that blends a lot of varied elements to be the album closer.
In conclusion, an album that’s this lengthy could’ve been repetitive or could have lacked creativity. But instead, they kept spices to everything and kept the mix varied and versatile in a way that includes something every fan of every genre of rock will love. This album is a modern classic that’s set for international success.
