A strong case could be made for Robin McAuley’s second solo album – 2021’s ‘Standing On The Edge’ – being one of the finest of the journeyman vocalist’s career. It seemed to hit a sweet spot in terms of melodies, and although the singer’s brand of melodic rock was hardly in fashion at the time of release, his love for the style appeared unwavering. The album’s strong musicianship and big choruses rivalled his earlier associations with the legendary Michael Schenker, and the record’s AOR slant made it a great fit alongside some of their other Frontiers Records releases from that time. Taking influence from Black Swan’s second album ‘Generation Mind’, 2023’s ‘Alive’ took a slightly harder turn musically, but still found Robin in great voice and an enthused mood.
Two years on, ‘Soulbound’ – McAuley’s third solo release for the Frontiers label, and fifth overall – draws even more heavily from a rocky source. This is most obvious during ‘The Best of Me’ which mixes a thunderous drum part with hard edged melodic metal guitars, coming closer to a Dio deep cut than anything in the Survivor influenced or classic melodic rock mould. McAuley raises his voice to suit, but there’s no sign of him straining or tackling anything beyond his range. Allowing a little time to settle, this becomes a really solid rocker, and his full scale cry sounds great against a heavy chug. There’s a little more melody creeping into a very 80s chorus, with a soaring vocal rising above the speed oriented elements, but the classic metal stance is quickly reinforced when Andrea Seviso steps forth to deliver a cracking guitar solo that sounds straight out of 1988. ‘Bloody Bruised and Beautiful’ finds Seviso and second guitarist Alessandro Mammola attacking with a similarly hard edge in places, allowing McAuley to explore the louder end of his impressive range, only this time turning out something that wouldn’t be out of place on any of the later Sunstorm albums with Ronnie Romero. It’s all rather more melodic metal than classic rock infused – and, again, this really becomes obvious with the arrival of a shredding lead guitar break – but that never stops Robin sharing a massive hook that should still resonate with the older melodic rock crowd.
‘Born To Die’ comes with a similarly grubby edge at first, only this time sounding like something from the Bob Halligan catalogue in the hands of Judas Priest, and this also carries one of the album’s greatest choruses with McAuley joined by strong harmonies. Unlike those other heavier workouts, though, you’ll find a bit of musical balance offered here via a couple of semi acoustic interludes that are most unexpected, a great chorus and another well executed guitar solo. It mightn’t push Robin into truly new territory, but everything is approached in a confident enough way to make this one of the album’s standout tracks. Another great rocker, ‘’Til I Die’ has a chorus that sounds like something from a Romero era Sunstorm record, once again, instantly catching the ear, but the more melodic aspects of the arrangement are countered by a grubby guitar. In terms of riffs, this is huge; somewhat impressively, it doesn’t venture into any expected tropes, either – there’s no hint of the Zeppelin-esque, anything Purple-ish, or any misguided grunginess. Instead, this gives an idea of how McAuley might’ve sounded fronting a band with George Lynch and Jeff Pilson in the late 90s. As you might expect, it gives the European guitarists plenty of scope, and for Robin, its a great vehicle for stretching his voice just a little. It’s more about riffs than hooks, but those who love a great riff or three will certainly find plenty to enjoy.
As an album, this is definitely rockier in places, but listeners hoping to find some great melodic tracks won’t feel short changed. ‘Crazy’ – a mid tempo number in the classic 80s style – opens with an atmospheric intro where keys and a soaring guitar melody lay down a great sound, before the band latch onto a riff that allows for a chopping guitar and solid drumming to share some great AOR with a rocky edge. As you might expect, this isn’t much more than bread and butter work for McAuley, but that’s not to say he’s “phoning it in”. When hitting the louder parts of the chorus, his voice has plenty of power, and even taking into consideration the couple of notes where it cracks just a little, his delivery remains very professional. It may be a track where things veer towards the predictable, but this actually ensures that somewhere after the second listen, it’s also a number that really sticks. After wrong-footing the listener with a massive bass chug, the title cut also ploughs a very melodic furrow, with a wall of keys joining the twin guitars to create a hard but accessible backdrop. When the verse gives way to the chorus, it’s great to hear McAuley sliding into something with some huge melodic chops, almost in a vein that would suit Jeff Scott Soto. It wouldn’t be remiss to suggest it all works a familiar seam for melodic rock, but with a strong hook and a ripper of a lead guitar break en route, it gives the album another highlight, as does the swaggering ‘Let It Go’, which sounds more like an old Kik Tracee or Ratt tune (albeit with much better vocals) than McAuley’s “typical” output. He sounds like he’s having the best time chewing through a big hook, and in Andrea and Alessandro, he clearly has musicians capable of pushing him to give his very best. With ‘There Was A Man’ closing the record with a rocky affair that works the whole band brilliantly, sharing hints of older fare like Warp Drive alongside a huge nod to Dokken once more, ‘Soulbound’ is a record that ends as confidently as it began. Unlike so much melodic rock and metal fare from the twenty first century – particularly from the Frontiers label – it neither feels two tracks too long or has the inevitable sag during the second half.
Whatever direction the music takes, ‘Soulbound’ is a great vehicle for McAuley. There are no tracks where the listener gets a sense of him coasting, or any feeling of his having recorded this material out of obligation. It’s also obvious that – pretty much rivalled only by Joe Lynn Turner and Steve Overland at this point – he’s still got one of the best voices of his generation, and it serves most of the material brilliantly here. Yes, this is harder around the edges than ‘Standing On The Edge’ and lacks a big ballad (which normally would be a staple for most melodic rock discs), but if you’re a Robin McAuley fan, you’re in very safe hands.
February 2025