The omnipresence of Alessandro Del Vecchio in the opuses offered by the Italian label Frontiers in recent years may well have generated a form of overflow among melodic hard rock fans. As a major collateral damage, this could lead to "Return Me To Light", which associates him under the name Soledriver with Michael Sweet, the voice of Stryper, going unnoticed.
The American frontman/guitarist's moves away from the metal inspirations to which he has accustomed us. While acknowledging his passion for muscular sounds, this king of white metal never forgets to point out that what guides him remains the melody that touches the heart and soul. Sweet and Del Vecchio have thus chosen an AOR orientation which borrows from Foreigner, Journey and Survivor. The lasting friendship between the two men is sincere enough for Sweet to leave the guitars to Frontiers' mascot. He simply sings along, perfectly adapting his voice to the US hard rock offered here.
The eleven tracks on "Return Me To Light" are consumed like a packet of sweets. There's hardly any originality in this mass-market product (perhaps the piano opening 'Out Of The Dark' is reminiscent of Supertramp), but you can rely on its effectiveness. In the retro FM/west coast muscular style, a few nuggets in particular are worth a detour: 'Soul Inside' in particular, thanks to its luminous chorus, as is the strong Survivor track 'Eternal Flame', a mid-tempo worthy of an 80's soundtrack, and 'Rise Again', which smacks of the Journey of yesteryear.
Soledriver, the new duo from the Frontiers stable, has come up with an opus that will give melodic hard rock fans a pleasant time, where successful melodies are combined with sufficiently influential guitars to satisfy those who criticize AOR for its atavistic sluggishness.