{"id":23922,"date":"2015-02-12T00:01:37","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T00:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=23922"},"modified":"2015-02-12T23:14:12","modified_gmt":"2015-02-12T23:14:12","slug":"album-review-talon-fourplay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-talon-fourplay\/","title":{"rendered":"TALON – Fourplay (2015) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

TALON
Fourplay<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nEscape Music (2015)<\/span>
Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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As the title suggest, Fourplay is the fourth instalment from Los Angeles, California-based rockers Talon who provide a nice lightweight, breezy rock \u2019n\u2019 roll groove based around the modest, yet effective vocal tone of returning frontman Michael O\u2019Mara. If Talon (formerly known as Voxen) had been placed in the late 80s hard rock scene then they would not have been out of place; the tunes are sprightly with dashes of crunch in the guitar, but it\u2019s the sort of uplifting rock to put smiles on people\u2019s faces.<\/p>\n

Opener, \u2018Spun\u2019 is a simple rocker with some simple, lighter flecks and a guitar that drives hard when required. In a sense though, Talon\u2019s new record is a hard one to describe because it\u2019s not flashy, progressive or technical, but just a good honest dose of vibrant rock.<\/p>\n

\u2018Sin City Sister\u2019 and \u2018Evil\u2019 are probably the album\u2019s heaviest moments, although in flashes the latter has more in common with Dio. Talon finds that exciting balance between melodic rock and breezy traditional metal; galloping one moment and yet the next offering up the swaying ballad \u2018Tonight\u2019 with its sublime solo and sturdy drum nod from John Parker.<\/p>\n

The cool plod of \u2018I Don\u2019t Wanna Cry\u2019 is just honey to the ears, but this is contrasted by the sleaziness of \u2018Holly Would\u2019 with its \u2018hair metal strut and predictably sassy lyrics as Michael O\u2019Mara barks, \u201cShe\u2019s so damn sweet, but she tastes so good\u201d over a lush groove.<\/p>\n

Other killer cuts are \u2018It\u2019s A Fine Line Between Love And Lust\u2019 with its rattling bass from Phil Keller, and as with all good rock songs it simmers slowly, building and building before erupting with that smoking chorus of gorgeous, ascending vocal harmonies. For some reason UK rockers Jagged Edge spring to mind, probably just because of that ballsy yet subtle marrying, but there\u2019s something for everyone here.<\/p>\n

Again we have that cool, effortless metallic groove showcased with \u2018Love Is Like A Drug To Me\u2019, which has such an infectious chorus you\u2019ll be whistling it in your sleep. Meanwhile, \u2018Hole In My Head\u2019 features more killer axe-work; Kory Voxen and Jim Kee are a truly formidable team for constructing meaty fodder for O\u2019Mara to grace.<\/p>\n

In fact, it\u2019s Michael O\u2019Mara who is really the star here; his voice so versatile as the band shifts gears, with his tone reaching soulful highs on the brilliant acoustic jig of \u2018Nothin\u2019 Like A Rockin\u2019 Band\u2019 which transforms into a fiery groover and wraps up this mighty fine album perfectly. Indeed, I can see me playing this scorcher many times… and I hope you will too.<\/p>\n

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

TALONFourplay Escape Music (2015)Rating: 8.5\/10 As the title suggest, Fourplay is the fourth instalment from Los Angeles, California-based rockers Talon who provide a nice lightweight, breezy rock \u2019n\u2019 roll groove based around the modest, yet effective vocal tone of returning frontman Michael O\u2019Mara. If Talon (formerly known as Voxen) had been placed in the late […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1640],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-talon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23922","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=23922"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23997,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23922\/revisions\/23997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}