Adam KeysGotthard – Silver (Nuclear Blast)
Genre – Hard Rock
Swiss hard rockers Gotthard are serial over achievers with 11 consecutive number one albums in their home country. Celebrating their 25th anniversary, the band is back with Silver, an album that is both vocally and sonically brilliant.
Opening with Silver River, listeners will be blown away by the classic rock riffs that see an effortless mix of blues guitars and brilliant solos, coupled with the infectiously raspy vocals of Nic Maeder. Silver River has everything rock fans want in a track, including a brilliant sing along chorus that was born for arenas. By the end of this incredible opener, you will find yourself singing along to the chorus of ‘Silver river, shiver, shake and quiver!’
One of the most impressive things about this album is the band’s desire to continue to take risks. It may be their silver anniversary, but Gotthard still want to push their sound forward. This is most prevalent in Not Fooling Anyone a track that is bursting with 80s pop appeal, taking them down a very different avenue to the rest of the album. Does this gamble pay off? It will certainly split the audience.
Pop aside, what’s more rock and roll than a Tequila Symphony? The track Tequila Symphony No. 5 is packed with hard rock magic. Heavier than the rest of the album, the track see less of the solo approach and more of the racing, head banging feel that rock fans love, making it a true 2017 rock gem.
This punching hard rock is matched thoughtfully by a mix of hard rock ballads throughout. This balance takes them back to the Steve Lee era of the band and provides a subtle balance of fast to slow, sing along to head bang approach that fans will gobble up.
The ballad approach comes to the fore in Stay With Me, as they take things back to a more simple level, with Maeder’s vocals taking centre stage. Once again, the chorus will grab listeners, showing Gotthard still know how to write catchy songs that get audiences excited.
Is this album perfect? Absolutely not, but it’s an album that keeps getting better with each play. Silver does the band plenty of justice and credit must be given to Maeder, who was given the unenviable task of replacing Lee following his death in 2010 – a task he has proved he is up to.
RUSHONROCK RATED – 9/10 Take us to the tequila symphony!
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