Hard rockers BLACK RAIN come from the very land of romance, France. Starting as a power metal band during their first two albums, they make a turn to the modern hard rock sound, with the release of their third album called “Released“.

The album kicks in with two rockin’ dynamites, “Back In Town” and “Mind Control”, which immediately get you to what these guys are trying to achieve: giving you a modern approach on the best elements of keyboard-enhanced US hard rock, with “Mind Control” including a seriously addictive chorus. Next track called “Killing Me”, is fully keyboard-driven, showing off some hints of their power metal past, especially during the chorus, together with some electronic elements here and there.

After the clean-guitar intro, “Run Tiger Run” turns into a power-ballad type of song, with acoustic guitars on the background, giving room for Swans’ voice to really shine. Don’t expect annoying sleazy bullshit, more like a pure rock voice, with a really good vocal range. Up next, an AC/DC-like riff brings us “Puppet On A String”, giving this album a major note, more like a classic rocker, with the Hammond keyboard giving it all the vintage atmosphere it needs. Next follows “Words Ain’t Enough” , an up-tempo acoustic song, with some really nice soloing.

“Eat You Alive”, begins with a classic circus melody, keeping up the up-tempo mood of the album, speeding up, in the middle section, for a killer solo. Time for another track blending acoustic and electric guitars with “Home”, a pretty ballad. “For Your Love” and “Fade To Black” get a bit more groovy, than the previous ones. Another keyboard-driven track entitled “Electric Blue” follows, rocking us once more. “Rock My Funeral” is a track with a hilarious narration intro, about a guy who tuned his guitar to drop D and died. The rest is a party song meant for lots of drinking while listening to it. And they saved the piano-driven ballad for the end. “One Last Prayer”, ends this album with a jazz/blues touch.

Overall, a really good hard rock album which worths your attention, by a band that could have more in store, for the future, if they don’t change their style again.

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