As fans of a movement that evolved from glam rock and glam metal, it's amazing how little attention we pay to it. That's why it's nice to see artists release modern-day music inspired by classic rock genres to remind us of our favorite artists' roots. Norway-based U.S. rock artist VITNE does just that with the release of his first album NEON. Heavily influenced by glam metal and visual kei, NEON is a solid first effort that proves that there is no such thing as an "old" genre of music.
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| NEON Album Cover |
Track List:
01. I/O
02. Destroyer
03. Nasty Habit
04. Silhouette
05. Royal Nights
06. Lick You Up
07. To The Sky
08. I'm Feeling Deadly
09. Cruisin'
10. Rest In Peace
USB Version Bonus Tracks:
11. Fire
12. It's Me
01. I/O
02. Destroyer
03. Nasty Habit
04. Silhouette
05. Royal Nights
06. Lick You Up
07. To The Sky
08. I'm Feeling Deadly
09. Cruisin'
10. Rest In Peace
USB Version Bonus Tracks:
11. Fire
12. It's Me
After the brief opening track "I/O", which sounds like a futuristic machine shutting down, NEON kicks off with "Destroyer". With its energetic pace bolstered by catchy lyrics and excellent guitar work, this song is glam metal to the core. The first thing you'll notice when listening to NEON is that VITNE is one of the few vocalists out there possessing a low voice that can be quite moving. The song ends somewhat abruptly after a particularly impressive solo. "Nasty Habit" is hands-down the best song on the album. Everything about this song is catchy and clever: the beat, the guitar riffs, the lyrics, everything. This is a song that easily belongs on a rock radio station.
The album slows down for a brief moment with the relaxing ballad "Silhouette". This track has a slow and steady pace that is punctuated by a dazzling guitar solo. "Royal Nights" picks up the pace with more catchy guitar riffs and some sexual, yet clever, lyrics."Lick You Up" follows a similar mantra, and is difficult to not (at least) nod your head to while it's playing. VITNE has no qualms about imbibing the sexual attitude that characterized many classic U.S. rock, metal, and hair metal songs. More importantly, he also has no problem executing that attitude in a congruent and smooth way.
The lyrics, instrumentation, and timing of "To The Sky" are some of the tightest on the album. The song has a fun and fast-paced feeling to it, and I can say from personal experience that it's an excellent driving song. "I'm Feeling Deadly" starts off with a dark and mischievous sound similar to "Destroyer", but soon adds impassioned lyrics and instrumentation to create quite a moving experience. "Cruisin'" brings NEON back to a more upbeat and fun feeling. The high-pitched crooning of the title throughout the song has classic hair-metal written all over it. It makes the song quite fun to listen to.
The regular edition of NEON ends with the oh-so-moving "Rest In Peace". The lyrics of this acoustic ballad are the saddest and most beautiful on the album. The limited USB-edition of the album contains two outtake tracks: "Fire" and "It's Me". Although they're both solid songs, you can tell that they were left out in order to keep NEON from having too many similar-sounding songs. I personally think including the outtakes in a limited edition is an excellent idea. By doing this, VITNE maintains the structural integrity of the album but still gets to show two tracks (which I'm sure he worked hard on) to the world.
As previously mentioned, NEON is a solid first effort from VITNE. As someone with much experience with visual kei but little experience with actual hair metal, I was both caught off guard and pleasantly surprised by what I heard on this album. One notable criticism of NEON is that the lyrics in some of the songs can be rather contrived, occasionally verging on cheesy. Many of the songs' structures are also very similar, which makes consecutively repeated listens somewhat undesirable. However, these are minor and only occasional flaws that every new rock artist has to deal with. I have no doubt that they will be corrected as VITNE continues to perform and record music. Overall, VITNE's modern-day take on a classic genre is a successful endeavor that shows that he has much potential. I look forward to hearing what he releases next.
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