{"id":19035,"date":"2014-05-23T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2014-05-23T00:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=19035"},"modified":"2014-06-11T19:21:24","modified_gmt":"2014-06-11T19:21:24","slug":"album-review-outloud-lets-get-serious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-outloud-lets-get-serious\/","title":{"rendered":"OUTLOUD – Let\u2019s Get Serious (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

OUTLOUD
Let\u2019s Get Serious<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nAOR Heaven (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 6\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Let\u2019s Get Serious<\/em> is the second album from Greek-American melodic rockers Outloud who have been on the rock \u2019n\u2019 roll circuit since recording their debut platter, We\u2019ll Rock You To Hell & Back Again<\/em>, which emerged in 2009. The successful opus was followed in 2012 by an EP (More Catastrophe<\/em>), and now the talented quintet release their second album.<\/p>\n

Outloud features the line-up of vocalist Chandler Mogel, drummer Kostas Milonas, bassist Sverd and the twin guitar attack of Jim Scordilis and Bob Katsionis, who also plays keys respectively \u2013 Scordilis and Milonas joined following the album\u2019s recording, the pair absent from Let\u2019s Get Serious<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m rarely swayed by such a glossy presentation as this because I tend to find that modern metal can be all too glistening on the eyes and ears, but this 12-track offering isn\u2019t too bad once you let it wash over you. Even so, it does have its flaws, mainly \u2013 in my opinion anyway \u2013 Mogel\u2019s vocals which, although crystal clear and powerful, at times seem out of place and give the record a rather theatrical feel. <\/p>\n

Throughout this album there is a selection of soaring and melodramatic tunes which don\u2019t always sit right with me, despite the strong guitar work from Katsionis. For instance, while opener \u2018Death Rock!\u2019 features a killer performance percussion-wise and also remains sturdy with its riffs and solos, \u2018I Was So Blind\u2019 just reeks of too much cheese for my liking with its immediately melodic yet corny strains. Yes, the track is catchy, but for me it sums up the modern metal movement with those keyboard tinkles and theatrical vocals, especially as the track throbs into the line \u201cI was na\u00efve, I must confess…\u201d<\/em> before that chorus, which has all the qualities of a Eurovision entry! Sorry guys. <\/p>\n

I won\u2019t upset any of you death metal freaks out there by telling you that Nile\u2019s George Kollias (drums) appears on this opus, but if you can stick with it you\u2019ll still find some catchy tunes here \u2013 my favourite being \u2018Toy Soldiers\u2019 (which includes a guest guitar solo from Adrenaline Mob\u2019s Mike Orlando), which proves that the outfit can rock hard with the best of them if they put their mind to it.<\/p>\n

\u2018Toy Soldiers\u2019 features a solid bass performance, and exists as a power metal gallop where Mogel\u2019s vocals are more effective when put alongside a racier framework. This has more in common with a Sebastian Bach track rather than anything pomp-fuelled, but the track seems isolated on the record, swamped by those keyboard-laced and pop-fuelled toe-tappers. \u2018All In Vain\u2019 is okay in parts if a tad generic as a modern metal track, while the acoustic-lead \u2018It Really Doesn\u2019t Matter\u2019 acts as a nice, subtle shift, and again seems to complement Mogel\u2019s voice better than those cheesier rhythms. <\/p>\n

The negative aspects of the opus are those steered toward a cheesier side; \u2018One More Time\u2019 with its somehow irritating chorus, the over-emotional \u2018Bury The Knife\u2019 and the unnecessary cover of OMD\u2019s \u2018Enola Gay\u2019 which \u2013 for all of its effort \u2013 just remains bland.<\/p>\n

So, the content of Let\u2019s Get Serious<\/em> rarely lives up to its title, making this outing a mixed bag of power rock pomp, sickly sweet keyboard injections and the occasional solid stomper. I can see the commercial appeal of the album but am rarely moved by its varying emotions.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OUTLOUDLet\u2019s Get Serious AOR Heaven (2014)Rating: 6\/10 Let\u2019s Get Serious is the second album from Greek-American melodic rockers Outloud who have been on the rock \u2019n\u2019 roll circuit since recording their debut platter, We\u2019ll Rock You To Hell & Back Again, which emerged in 2009. The successful opus was followed in 2012 by an EP […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1236],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-outloud"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19035"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19040,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19035\/revisions\/19040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}