Lovekillers featuring Tony Harnell  

 Released 6/12/19

Album review by; DeeDee  

 

Tony Harnell has a reputation for being one of the best melodic rock vocalists around these days. His stint in TNT made him popular with many fans of the heavier side of AOR, the list of awards with that band, are proof of how well he contributed to their success.

Of late, Tony has concentrated on more solo projects, bringing in renowned musicians to produce some remarkable albums. At present he is geared up for an Australian tour, but back in December the Lovekillers album was released, so I decided to have a listen. 

 

Lovekillers is Mr Harnells’ 20th Studio Album and his 27th overall. He is joined by 

Edo Sala on drums, who has been seen handling sticks for Paul Gilbert (Mr Big), in the

past. On guitar is Italian shredder Gianluca Ferro, who is a superb metal/ jazz guitarist,

his 2016 solo record ‘A Hole In The Ocean’ is one to savour. Completing the band is 

Alessandro Del Vecchio on bass and keyboards, he is the “In House” producer at 

Frontiers Music and recently associated with Hardline and The Revolution Saints.

Quite a line up, the expertise and ability of these guys is top drawer. 

 

‘Alive Again’ is the catchy introduction, a gentle melody with clever guitar and

keyboards.  ‘Hurricane’ continues the theme, but with more stretching strings and a

pulse of a rhythm to set it all off. I like the slower tempo and keys on ‘Who Can We Run

To’ deeper vocals too. It is similar to the 80s anthems that we used to sway our bodies

along to. The building of ‘Higher Again’ and its faster pace, is a melodic triumph. Tony

covers more of his range on this and like the opener there’s a catchy chorus, with added

guitar magic and strong drums coming at you throughout. 

 

‘Across The Oceans’ is a soulful up-beat ballad, loads of meaningful lyrics with a

simplistic mellowness, just a beautiful song. Naturally the production is second to

none, this is really evident on ‘Bring Me Back’ and ‘Now Or Never’ which is one of my

favourites. Backing vocals and harmonies are strong on this track and give it loads of body, while taking nothing from the main vocals, another impressive chorus, with interspersed guitar and keys. 

 

We go down to more lower tones on ‘Heavily Broken’ and again the rhythm slows for ‘No More Love’, poetic music full of intense emotion and perfect skill. The last track ’Set Me Free’ takes you away, it’s a drifting journey of dominant vocals, that are delivered softly while caressing you. A marvellous ballad that is the perfect ending to this masterpiece.     

 

Tony Harnell is so productive it is hard to keep up, but I do recommend this album for those moments, when you need to hear something with piles of melody. It is quite eloquent and only after a couple of plays I’m singing along to Lovekiller choruses.  

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5/5

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From the self-titled debut album. Buy or Stream: https://radi.al/Lovekillers

 

Tracklist;

1. Alive Again
2. Hurricane
3. Ball And Chain
4. Who Can We Run To
5. Higher Again
6. Across The Oceans
7. Bring Me Back
8. Now Or Never
9. Heavily Broken
10. No More Love
11. Set Me Free

Line-up
Tony Harnell - Vocals
Gianluca Ferro - Guitars
Alessandro Del Vecchio - Bass, Keyboards
Edo Sala - Drums