First Signal began life as a side project for Harem Scarem singer Harry Hess, but with the arrival of session guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Michael Palace and drummer Daniel Flores for the second record ‘One Step Over The Line’, the melodic rock band took on a little more of its own identity. It wasn’t until 2019’s ‘Line of Fire’, however, that First Signal finally found their feet, but with that record, they became far more than just an extra-curricular hustle – they were now a band to rival some of the scene’s greatest acts. That album even outshone most of Harem Scarem’s work since the mid 90s.
ROBIN McAULEY – Alive
Robin McAuley’s 2021 album ‘Standing On The Edge’ was unexpectedly good. With that release, the veteran rock singer not only managed to turn in one of the year’s best melodic rock albums, but one of the year’s best albums – period. Although McAuley has only ever taken a sporadic approach to recording as a solo artist, the record’s huge choruses and swathes of late 80s inspired melodies showed his talent hadn’t waned since his heyday, and if anything, it suggested his voice was stronger than ever. The following year found Robin moonlighting with hard rock supergroup Black Swan (also featuring ex-Dokken man Jeff Pilson and guitarist Reb Beach), which allowed him to apply his voice to a few chunkier arrangements on occasion. It wasn’t the kind of album that achieved massive worldwide success, but was well loved by the dyed in the wool rock fans who actually heard it, continuing something of a winning streak.
JAKE SIMMONS – My American Dream EP
Like many musicians, singer-songwriter Jake Simmons had great plans for 2020. The time had come to start thinking about a follow up to his ‘Shake So Easy’ LP recorded with The Little Ghosts, but by the time he’d hoped to resurrect the band, the world had other ideas and sidelined everything and everyone with a global pandemic.
KHYMERA – Hold Your Ground
Despite featuring no original members, Khymera’s fourth album ‘The Grand Design’ was a solid piece of melodic rock, and 2020’s ‘Master of Illusions’ was potentially even better. That record, although perhaps not up to the quality of the self-titled debut from 2003, showed how Khymera were able to steer their way through some great riffs and big chorus hooks, and they were still a great band under Dennis Ward’s guidance.
THE LAST REIGN – Endangered Pieces Volume One
Before the pandemic lockdown turned the world on its head and bands were forced to work from home studio setups wherever possible, US metal band The Last Reign’s career had really started to gain traction. Their ‘Prelude’ EP, released in 2019, mixed classic metal with waves of metalcore and a pinch of thrash to create something huge. The end result sometimes owed a debt to riff titans In Flames and Soilwork, but as influences go, it gave the band an especially solid sound. The ‘Evolution’ album (released during a troubled 2020), cemented their place within the metal underground, and a pair of EP releases – ‘Dangerous To Go Alone’, reimagining Last Reign material as 8-bit arcade machine soundtracks, and a covers disc ‘Just Too Darn Loud’ (2021) – showed that this sometimes very serious sounding band also knew how to have fun.