Re-release of the debut full-length album by Portuguese AOR/Melodic Hard Rock band.
"Light This City" was originally released in 2003 and was a smash success in Japan, a place where good taste apparently hasn’t died off completely. It was voted as album of the month in Japanese Burn! Magazine plus it peaked #11 at the country's Hard/Heavy charts. The band is most likely to draw comparisons to Bon Jovi, with lead vocalist Sergio Sabino particularly Jon Bon Jovi-esque in his tone and phrasing. But that’s not to dismiss "Light This City" from a heaping helping of Classic Melodic Rock sensibilities. The track list is a decent mix of sizzling rockers and heartfelt ballads. First up is “All I Want, All I Need”, a fast, up-tempo rocker that is definitely among the most like Bon Jovi on this package.
Following it up is “Cast Out The Rain”, slow and sweet as a ballad should be, showing off plenty of sensitivity in Sabino’s vocal delivery. Another sparkling power ballad is “Ending Song”, which has all the earnestness of such classics as “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and “Don’t Know What You’ve Got (Til It’s Gone)”. “I’ve Been Missing You” starts off gentle as a lamb, then pumps up the volume with high-powered Rock goodness. The guitar solo on “Learned My Lesson” can stand up to anything Richie Sambora or Neal Schon can play, while the title track captures well the need to blow off steam after the workweek grind.
“Like a Shadow” and “Melting Your Ice” are polished gems glittering with shining vocals and gleaming guitars, a sharp contrast to “Please”, which boasts acoustic guitars and stripped-down percussion, making it the softest song on an otherwise powerful, ear-blasting ride.
This CD will surely please any AOR/Melodic Rock fan, as well as fan of fresh melodic Hard Rock as instructed by Bon Jovi and Harem Scarem in the 90s and onwards! Check it out!!
Perris Records, 2003/2009 (PER2102). Made in USA.
Tracklist:
1. Light This City 4:05
2. There's No Turning Back 4:29
3. All I Want, All I Need 4:22
4. I've Been Missing You 4:18
5. You Won't Get Me Now 4:22
6. Ending Song 4:58
7. Melting Your Ice 4:26
8. Learned My Lesson 4:54
9. Like A Shadow 4:16
10. The Way I Am 3:12
11. Way Back 4:39
12. Please 3:30
13. Cast Out The Rain 5:00
Total playing time: 56:31