Review by Greg on October 16, 2024.

We've all been there, at least once: a band strikes absolute gold with an album, then inevitably fails to recapture whatever made it so great, as if not even they themselves were sure how they did it in the first place. Lightning in a Bottle aims to cover those (usually debut) albums that turned out to be one-time feats for their respective bands.

Now for something a little bit different...

A man with previous experiences in power metal decides to start a hard rock band, surrounding himself with competent musicians, and convincing a drummer coming straight from extreme metal to perform on his forthcoming album. No, it's not Worldchanger by Jorn, but it's a similar affair, only (spoiler alert) with a way better result. Outloud is another project by mastermind Bob Katsionis of Firewind and Warrior Path fame, who performs both guitar and keyboard duties here. He has constituted one of the band's two central figures throughout its entire history so far, the other being formidable American vocalist Chandler Mogel, who has showed his versatility in a number of other acts (Theater of the Absurd above all). For some reason, their 2015 LP Let's Get Serious also saw Katsionis' countryman and Nile's own human octopus George Kollias lending a hand (and all his other limbs as well) for the recordings. Guess that's something you don't see every day...

The band has always stayed loyal to a very nostalgic brand of '80s glam rock, and the fact that a couple of their albums, including the one here examined, were released for AOR Heaven should be the most appropriate warning for the average metalhead. In any case, Let's Get Serious manages to surprise, even if not completely given Kollias' and Katsionis' pedigree, for the fact that there's a decent amount of heavier stuff after two proper AOR releases (yep, this is the first non-debut I cover). You won't need to go further than the first seconds of the album to notice – already the barrage of double bass introducing opener 'Death Rock!' will suffice. Not to mention that the rest of the song more than flirts with 2/4 beats and even some harsh vocals. 'Wait... it sounds more like power metal rather than glam', you might be saying. Well, your mind isn't playing tricks on you, as 'Toy Soldiers' easily beats every Warrior Path song in terms of sheer energy, and there's even a short blast-beat section on the title track, an inclusion that Katsionis really took pride in, according to the CD's liner notes.

I can hear you now. But no, Let's Get Serious isn't worthy of my – and your – attention just because it's heavier than your average AOR release. Cheesy '80s rock is still the focus, but this time even the most blatantly cliché passages stay enjoyable, and ultimately may God damn me if this album isn't one of the most infectious collections of hooks ever made. Every chorus is nigh-on infallible and even the instrumental title track makes up for the lack of vocals by presenting an equally memorable recurring lead sequence. I can still remember my first listen to this with no effort since almost every song remained trapped in a loop inside my brain for days. The initial exception was the acoustic-only ballad, 'It Really Doesn't Matter', but it later grew on me as well. I can turn my nitpicking mode on and say that maybe 'One More Time' is just a bit too pedestrian to be on par with the others, but then, for AOR standards it's far from offensive.

But what about the rest? It's one earworm after the other, plain and simple. From the most introspective numbers (the irresistible 'Like a Dream' and 'All in Vain') to the more apparently happy-go-lucky, but still musically serious fare found in 'Death Rock!' or the youthful anthem 'A While to Go', there's excellent stuff at literally every corner. Mogel owns the record like a modern reincarnation of Joey Tempest, and Katsionis doesn't forget to deliver quality leads, even conceding himself some shredding moments ('Another Kind of Angel', the amazing title track). Every aspect analyzed so far is then gathered up in the apex of Let's Get Serious, the 6 minutes of perfection of 'Bury the Knife'. There isn't much else I can say about it at this point, just listen for yourself how smoothly the song goes through soothing verses, a majestic, layered chorus, a heavier bridge climaxing into an immaculate solo, with everything coming full circle at the end. Nothing short of glorious.

I'd say that the only fault of Let's Get Serious is, well, its unfortunate status of a probable fluke. Outloud might have taken its title way too seriously, as both its predecessors were too run-of-the-mill to be as enjoyable, and would be totally forgettable outside of a couple of songs. However, even worse is arguably that, after struggling so much to hit the jackpot, the band lost the spark again with Virtual Hero Society (2018), which upped the ante in the nostalgia camp (just look at its title and think if its initials mean something to you), but at the price of being unable to cook up a single chorus that could even dream of pinching a spot in the ~50 minutes here examined. Based upon their first two installments, I could never have expected Outloud to make something like Let's Get Serious before, while now... I doubt they'll ever top it.

Oh well, we still have this little gem to enjoy, if nothing else. Warning: it won't leave your head for a long time.

Rating: 9 out of 10