Before I go any further with this review, I’d like to start off by saying I am not purposely reviewing Mexican acts back to back. It just so happened that the two releases on my radar this week that appealed to me the most happen to come from our neighbors down south. Yet whereas StarForce specialize in unadulterated speed that’ll leave you needing a neck brace for days and weeks to follow, Laguna are signed to Frontiers, and that statement alone should give you a good idea where this review is headed. In other words, if you have an aversion to crisp production, dreamy synths, and squeaky clean vocals, close this window now!
Laguna are your textbook, fresh-faced AOR revivalists: The type of band that Frontiers goes searching the ends of the earth for when they aren’t pairing George Lynch up with three to four of his peers for another here today, gone tomorrow supergroup. They’ve apparently been going at it since 2018, but as far as I’m aware, haven’t released any demos, EPs, or even singles prior to this here debut outing, The Ghost of Katrina. Yes, Katrina is their maiden voyage, and if you’re an AOR act, what better way to introduce yourself than via the world’s premiere AOR label?
As for the type of AOR Laguna specialize in, think a cut above the genre’s hard rocking side, but not abrasive enough to be constituted as melodic metal. Heavy AOR, perhaps? The opening “Ghost Behind the Mask”, with its lush atmosphere and warm vocal melodies, give off the impression this is going to be a straightforward Journey/Survivor fashioned affair. And while the influence of those bands can be heard in the hooks, melodies, and grooves of Laguna, its guitar-driven ’80s acts like Night Ranger or the accessible side of Dokken that dominate the band’s sonic brew.
Heavy-handed riff-rockers like “Punk Boy”, “Electric High”, and “My Syndrome” (the closest this album gets to euro power/melo metal) are the type of headbanger AOR that reminds us why this genre, approachable as it is, shared space on the pages of Kerrang! circa 1985 alongside acts like Slayer and Queensrÿche. Par the course for a release of this nature, you’ve also got your fair share of pomp-driven mini-epics like “Wildfire” and “Bring Back to Life”. For a band from Mexico, Laguna sure taps into that old school euro grandiosity that put acts like Magnum and Pretty Maids on the map all those years ago. Talk about a group who did their homework!
When all is said and done, The Ghost of Katrina plays as a very strong AOR platter, even if the writing and arrangements grow a tad predictable towards its back half. This is melodic rock, folks. Has there been any new ground broken in this genre past the year 1990? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t had its fair share of highlights since. Laguna definitely boast the focus and hunger to pen their own AOR opus on down the line, and I look forward to seeing them attempt such with album #2. Until then, The Ghost of Katrina is a hauntingly compelling debut that’ll continue to get spun in this here household until the time calls for heavier fare. After all, I do have a pomp rock quota!
7 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: AOR
For fans of: Night Ranger, H.E.A.T, Dokken