A new album and a new singer. The Dead Daisies’ latest album Holy Ground (SPV Steamhammer) is their first with the “voice of rock” Glenn Hughes, and his powerful pipes are a perfect match for the band’s well-honed classic rock. Having been in Deep Purple and more recently Black Country Communion Glenn is no stranger to famous bandmates and supergroups. The lead single ‘Unspoken’ shows that despite the ever-revolving door of bandmates, the music is as thunderous, hooky and rocking as ever. 

Like their last offering Burn It Down in 2018 you know exactly what the next 48 minutes is going to bring; ballsy Hard Rock with big riffs, catchy choruses, and fiery solos. All these things are served up in the tasty album opener ‘Holy Ground (Like No Other)’. It ain’t new or fresh but it is done well and is a damn good time, as is also the case with the taut, Whitesnake like a bundle of riffs ‘Bustle and Flow’. The ex-member of that parish Doug Aldrich combines well with David Lowy in ‘My Fate’, a mid-paced number with a massive, hulking riff and stomping groove. 

With an accumulative CV including Bad English, Deep Purple, Dio, Journey, and Whitesnake infectious tracks with lively guitar work – ‘Like No Other (Bassline)’ – come as no surprise.  You do not come to records like this expecting David Bowie-esque reinvention, you come wanting headbanging, air guitar-friendly, rockers. The loud, classic rock tinged wall of riffs goes from start to finish, delivering the amped-up thrills you came for but the lack of variety wears you down by the end. Big, string bolstered ballad ‘Far Away’ adds a bit of spice late on, it is melodramatic but ultimately forgettable.

If you want to escape to a world of big riffed, hooked filled, and passionate rock done by seasoned pros then look no further. As the old adage goes, if it ain’t broke…

Buy The Dead Daisies – Holy Ground  here: https://thedeaddaisies.com/holyground/

7 / 10 

THOMAS THROWER