Fifth album for High Spirits and with this one they can boast that they are one of the few bands that make a five out of five since all their works from 2009, the year of their foundation, until today range from very good to excellent.
For those who don’t know them, High Spirits is practically Chris Black’s project since he plays all the instruments and sings. This may have deprived him of some of the publicity he could have had as a full band but on the other hand it has probably offered him the freedom to be committed to his musical vision for the band.
High Spirits play a very commercial blend of classic heavy metal and hard rock that doesn’t hesitate to skew towards AOR. No wonder that all these years they continue under the roof of the beloved High Roller Records, famous for its most… true releases. But that doesn’t matter much for anyone who wants to listen to well-written music.
“Safe On The Other Side” is an album that oozes positive energy. Music that makes you feel good! It’s one of those albums you have to listen to its entirety even though it’s not too short in length (40 minutes please). Well played heavy metal with many references to bands that the somewhat older of us grew up with but always passed through the prism of Black.
The sound of the album has a lot of variety. From the hardest moments to the compositions where the speeds drops it is so well done that I could hardly pick out some tunes since they all have something to offer. As if that wasn’t enough, we also have a great cover of “Memories” by the gods Europe. Now that’s a song to start a fight over.
In other words, if your preferences are of the classic sound this is the work for your collection!
