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James Byrd got his
first guitar at the age of 9 and he was heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix in
his youth. Moving between Los Angeles and Seattle he made his way into the
music business and played with several cover bands before ending up with Fifth
Angel and finally started recording solo albums for Shrapnel Records. That's
the usual guitar hero history. Now he has changed label to the Scandinavian
Lion Music though to release his new album "Anthem" where he is joined by
Brian Hutchinson on most instruments and the Takara front man Michael Flatters
on vocals. The album starts out with a majestic ballad where the full talents
of Flatters are unveiled for real. There are a wide variety of songs on this
album, ranging from slow powerful ballads to heavier and more progressive
tracks. If you like 70's hard rock and metal á la Deep Purple or Rainbow with
the organs replaced with more bombastic modern keyboard arrangements then Byrd
is something for you. The musicianship is stellar and the vocals are both
powerful and emotional but it still lacks that little extra to take it to the
top. It is a high standard album with a professional sound but I need a little
bit more originality than is shown here to really get into the music.
Definitely recommended for fans of progressive rock though. Stand-out tracks:
"All I Want".
| Tracklist |
1. Anthem (Dealt By Darkness) 2. |
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Omen 3. Messages From Home 4. Some Day 5. All I Want |
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6. Killing Machine 7. Thank You 8. The Price Of War |
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9. Only Love |
: 41.48
| Buy other Byrd albums |
