Hailing from Germany, RISING WINGS is pretty much a one-man band with founder Florian “Flo” Bauer contributing in every way to this album outside of drums. According to the bio, Florian released two EPs over a decade ago but has not released anything since.
This makes me wonder what took him so long for this Pride And Joy Records full debut album “Reach” and why the public has been deprived of what turns out to be a CD with some of the best songs I’ve heard from any band this year.
The album opens with a bang. ‘Ride On’ starts out with a cool build up until the riff kicks in and grabs you with both hands at it rockets you towards the sky. The type of song that is so well constructed you feel as if you can fly through the air.
There are several songs on this album with the theme of breaking free and each one hit home with me. This is exactly what I want to hear when I need rock music to temporarily take me away.
Second track ‘Lonely Is The Night’ slows things down a bit with a midtempo melody that seems custom made to be a single. A tune with a commercial melodic sound that could be easily mistaken as a track from a band you have never heard from in the late ’80s. All the elements are present for that mass appeal that bands strove for back then.
Track three nearly knocked me off my chair. A punchy, crunchy, powerful riff showcases ‘Whatever It Takes’. This track could have easily come off Bonfire’s ‘Point Blank’ album. It does help that the song and album was co-produced by Chris Lausmann, who engineered and produced for Bonfire, but with this song he really nails their sound. Once again, another song about overcoming adversity, this track is sure to make people’s best of list for this year. Sensational!
While those are the three best songs on the album, the rest are very good too. Some highlights include ‘Hey You’, which takes an acoustic power pop approach. It’s a nice change-up from what came before and adds some variety to the collection.
‘Reach The Sky’ is full of energy and incorporates a good use of melody change by opening big before going slower and building up to its chorus, where the change up bursts from the speakers.
If this is just the beginning, then we can expect to hear great things in the future from Florian. I just hope he won’t take another decade to come out with new material.
Fans of melodic bands like early Eclipse and Bonfire have a new album to check out this year. An overall great melodic hard rock album with some killer tracks and classic vibe.
Highly Recommended
1. Ride On
2. Lonely Is The Night
3. Whatever It Takes
4. Remember
5. Hey You
6. Reach The Sky
7. Keep Going On
8. Wild And Free
9. Crying Time
10. Times Of Rain
Rising Wings – Reach 2023, MP3+FLAC
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