CD REVIEW: VITNE – Neon

Shane | 31 July 2014 | Reply

CD REVIEW: VITNE – Neon
Hart As A Rock
December, 2013
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
8/10

Vitne Eveillé’s latest album sees him exploring new territory, with Julian Angel handling the guitars and acting as the perfect foil to the expat American, now based in Norway.

With the guitars in such eloquent hands, Vitne is given the space to stretch out with some exciting songwriting, and his vocals sound great throughout.

Not your run-of-the-mill metal or hair metal singer, Vitne half-speaks some of his lyrics, his dulcet tones sounding like he’s speaking directly to the listener at times. At other times his voice has a New Romantic edge to it – Silhouette especially could be a heavy metal Human League song at a stretch; Lick You Up has a dancey rhythm under all the power chords that reminds me of Dead Or Alive; To The Sky could almost be early Gary Numan if you stripped the guitars back.

The guitars make such a difference because Angel’s playing is superb, as we’ve come to expect from the Beautiful Beast himself, and the band (drummer Phil Robertson, keys player Sean Emmel, and Vitne handles acoustic guitar & bass himself) are exceptional, leaning in a hard rock direction one minute, a little more gothic the next, never sacrificing a pinch of feel or groove, and handling the twists and turns with considerable aplomb.

Neon succeeds because Vitne has the balls to bring all his influences to the table – it’s not just denim & leather headbanging, though that’s a strong element here, and it works so very well.

https://www.facebook.com/VITNEOfficial