Album Review: Revolution Saints - Revolution Saints

I remember vividly getting involved in what turned into a very ugly argument over the musical skill of people involved in pop music. The majority opinion seemed to be that pop musicians must be unskilled hacks, because the music they made was so simple to play. Not that I portray myself to be a master of music, I took the opposite position, that not only is simple music deviously hard to do well, but that the amount of skill shown off during a song is a wholly incomplete way of assessing the totality of a musician's ability.

I was reminded of this as Revolution Saints came across my desk, another band that is a mixture of stalwarts from the 80s and 90s, this time fronted by Journey drummer Deen Castronovo. The drummer of one of the biggest names of 80s cheese rock would seem an odd choice to front a band, let alone in this decade, but it shouldn't be shocking. Most of these guys are more capable than we give them credit for. And with former Whitesnake and Dio guitarist Doug Aldrich, and Night Ranger bassist Jack Blades, alongside, Revolution Saints is an interesting collection of talent.

If you go into “Revolution Saints” expecting anything but pure 80s rock in the Journey style, you're going to be sorely disappointed. But if you just want to hear three guys doing what they do best, this album is going to be a treat. This combination of players gels together easily, playing highly melodic rock that will leave a smile on your face. “Back On My Trail” opens the album with a guitar swell, then jumps straight into a short and sweet pop song that showcases what made this style so popular back in the day. Aldritch adds a ripping solo, but the star is Castronovo, whose voice is stronger and more charismatic than could have been expected. He's sung in Journey before, but hearing him in an extended setting like this is something entirely different, and he more than lives up to top billing.

He shares vocal duties with Blades on a few tracks, and with current Journey singer Arnel Pineda on “You're Not Alone”, and comes out more than holding his own. With a thin layer of gravel in his voice, his gives the perfect amount of rough around the edged grit to the music, which keeps it from falling into the trap of being too saccharine to be taken seriously. A lot of AOR style rock is so light and fluffy that it's barely rock and roll anymore, but Revolution Saints is able to add enough muscle onto these songs to keep the album hard enough for what it's trying to be.

With the pedigrees these guys have, you would expect them to deliver solid songs, and they surely do that here. The hooks throughout the record are top-notch, making sure every song has a strong melody to remember. The instrumentals serve the songs, rather than stand out with titanic riffs of their own, so the hooks are essentially the whole of the album. That can be a dangerous road to travel, but it pays off when a band is able to write a set of strong melodies like this. I hate reverting to the comparison, but “Revolution Saints” sounds to my ears like what the recent Journey records should have been. The blend of rock and melody is beautiful here, and is a perfect example of why songwriting is the most important trait for any musician to master. These guys are all great at what they do, but none of their skill would matter if they didn't have the songs to play.

“Revolution Saints” is another one of those records being made by veterans that feels like it's stuck in the past. Rather than being a gripe, it's a badge of honor, because “Revolution Saints” reminds me of what rock music was like when it was at its best. “Revolution Saints” will never be remembered the same way as the records these guys have made with their main bands, if only because of when it came out, but it's as enjoyable an hour of music as they could possibly make. Definitely check this out if you like old-school melodic rock.