Ron Coolen
Title: Rise
Label: RC Music
Release Date: 1st March 2020
Dutch multi-instrumentalist Ron Coolen releases “RISE” in March and has gathered a stellar line up of world class musicians, we have George Lynch, Keith St. John, Christopher Amott, Göran Edman, Stéphan Forté, Joey Concepcion, Thorsten Koehne, Chris Clancy, Johannes Persson, Daniël Verberk, Steve Lamb and Sam Walters.
So as soon as the needle hits the groove, we are introduced to the amazing voice of Keith St. John who of course has worked his magic with Montrose, Kingdom Come, Lynch Mob to name but a few. The highly addictive “Big Devil Data” opens proceedings a track that’s already been released and its so easy to see why, the chugging Guitar and delicious solos on this opener instantly have you hooked. The intro from Coolens has a huge significance to the Dutch man, the very first riff he ever did in a garage Band back in the day, this song I have played so many times , its intelligent and Indepth lyrics deal with the world we live in today where technology has become boss and runs and even ruins lives as we are all becoming slaves to these machines.
I love “White Summer” this is a total eargasm as St. John and cohorts bring Led Zep inspired riffs and soul to the room, this is immense as St. John shows off those Bluesy Vocals to great effect this is sublime and has you drooling for the sweet sugar and warm balmy nights as this song winds and twists itself into you with fine work from Stéphan Forté making his Guitar sing, this is without doubt my favourite track on here.
“Too Late to Surrender” has an absolutely stunning Guitar Solo delivered by Johannes Persson a relatively unknown young Guitarist who possibly delivers the best Solo on this platter its spell blinding and weaves its magic on you as we are taken back to the horrendous one man attack in 2017 that claimed the lives of 58 people and injured hundreds more, a difficult subject to deal with , yet delivered with empathy, sorrow and anger by these talented musicans.
We are taken back to those heady days of the Eighties as the steamy and raunchy “Sin City” booms outta ya speakers, as the one and only George Lynch makes an appearance on this kick ass number, this reminds you of those long gone sun drenched days when Rock was number one worldwide and MTV mattered. A sexy good time number. The Eighties groove continues on “Shoot your Devils Down” as Coolen delivers some solos and Steve Lamb once of Tygers of Pan Tang kicks out some meaty riffs as well, this really does shake the foundations and annoys the horned one as we all should “Shoot your Devils Down”
“Ashes to Ashes” deals with the worst fire in California’s history the spoken word instrumental takes you back to November 2018 as the town of Paradise burned in this urban firestorm. “Paradise” follows as the lyrics written by Francoise Vaal and dedicated to the citizens of Paradise hit home and makes you wonder why this tragedy was not more widely known in the world, instead of being a footnote in history. St Johns feelings and passion shine out in this song, its more of a relaxed number, compared to the rest of the Album its effective and heartfelt.
This release takes a totally different direction as the thrash tastic “Kill Kill Kill” decimates your brain cells this is fast, furious and face smashingly superb a track many a Band from the Bay area would be proud to have in their repertoire. Featuring the talents of Joey Concepcion, Christopher Amott and Vocals of Sam Walters this ferocious meaty morsel will sate many a thrash fans hunger.
Title track “Rise” is a 49 second instrumental which leads into the progressive “Stories” this time featuring former Mutiny Within Vocalist Chris Clancy the growls and intent rock you to your core, a captivating piece full of aggression and malice. Again, Clancy takes over Vocal duties on the face melting “From Your Mouth” with a blistering solo courtesy of Joey Concepcion this machine guns its venom into your body.
The amazing Göran Edman brings this work to a close mainly known for his work with Yngwie Malmsteen his contribution to “Selfishness” is outstanding with a taste of Asia added into the mix it brings to a close a competent Debut from Ron Coolen.
I really love the depth and detail that has gone into this opus, I really hope this twelve-track debut gets the recognition it rightly deserves.
Review: Seb Di Gatto Score: 8.5/10
Reviewed: 10/2/2020
Track Listing:
1.Big Devil Data
2.White Summer
3.Too Late to Surrender
4.Sin City
5.Gotta Shoot your Devil Down
6.Ashes to Ashes
7.Paradise
8.Kill Kill Kill
9.Rise
10.Stories
11.From Your Mouth
12.Selfishness Website
JASON BECKER CHARITY For every album sold, Ron will donate 1 USD to Jason Becker, who is suffering from ALS. Jason needs every support to pay for his medical bills. Jason has been a huge inspiration to Ron throughout his musical career, and Ron has done charity work for Jason before. Follow this link for more information on the charity for Jason.
