The number 13 has long been a sign of bad luck. There’s “Friday the 13th”: An entire 24 hour time span infamous for serial killings, albeit mostly fictional thanks to the film series of the same name. Many hotels skip the number 13 outright, as elevators go from the 12th to the 14th floor. Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, is considered the “13th apostle”. Taking all of this bad juju into account, you think veteran axe slinger Joel Hoekstra would want to name his project anything other than “13”, yet he did so anyways. After a couple listens to 13’s latest album, Running Games, I’m starting to think 13 might not be such a bad number after all.
Joining this talented guitarist is an equally talented team of superstar musicians. Symphony X’s Russell Allen handles lead vocals, while Jeff Scott Soto provides occasional backup. Dream Theater’s Derek Sherenian lays down the keys and the rhythm section consists of an absolute unit: Blue Murder’s Tony Franklin on bass and Black Sabbath’s Vinny Appice on drums. Frontiers has long been responsible for assembling these musical dream teams. As great as they sound on paper, many end up being hit or miss. However, 13 hits it out of the park with an album of old school hard rock, metal, and AOR that embodies the spirit of the label.
Running Games opens with the Dio influenced “Finish Line”. It’s the first of a handful of melodic metal tracks found throughout this album. Allen’s vocals shine against Hoekstra’s gargantuan 80s metal riffs. Other tracks in this metallic vein are the epic “Cried Enough for You” and the Yngwie Malmsteen inspired “Take What’s Mine”. While I would’ve been satisfied with an entire album of metallic riffs and dark atmosphere, Hoekstra knows that you can’t have the heavy without the hard. And there’s plenty of hard to be heard.
“Heart Attack”, “I’m Gonna Lose It”, and “Fantasy” all sound like songs Hoekstra could’ve written for his main outfit, Whitesnake. It’s impressive that Allen can so effectively go from channeling the otherworldly power of Dio to the soulful swagger of David Coverdale. The rest of the band, being the pros they are, seamlessly go along for the ride. It’s enough to make you wish 13 shed their “studio project” status and became a full blown band.
Topping it all off are elegant touches of AOR that are scattered from beginning to end. These touches are most prevalent on my choice cut, “Hard to Say Goodbye”. Biting metal riffs in the vein of Dokken coalesce with sweet rocking melodies that dominated the airwaves circa 1986. The end result is a song that’s bound to make my Spotify “On Repeat” playlist.
There’s no games being played on Running Games: Only in your face guitar centric rock n roll at maximum velocity. It’s no wonder everybody from David Coverdale to Cher wants a piece of Joel Hoekstra! The shredding on display here is too damn sweet to ignore.
8 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: Hard Rock
For fans of: Dio, Whitesnake, Dokken