Rejoice headbangers! After years of flirting on the razor’s edge, Robin McAuley has finally made a full-fledged metal album! Mind you, when I use the term “metal” here, I’m not referring to gutturals, blast beats, or anything of that deadly nature. I’m not even referring to the fire and brimstone of say fellow AOR crooner turned leather-clad metallist Joe Lynn Turner’s Belly of the Beast. However, on McAuley’s latest outing, Soulbound, there’s an undeniable heft that sets it apart from his last two solo releases, although this shift was partially foreshadowed on 2023’s Alive.
Much of this has to do with the change in personnel not just in Robin’s camp, but the Frontiers’ camp at large. The departure of one man songwriting/production/multi-instrumentalist machine Alessandro Del Vecchio has lead to an increased workload for Frontiers’ other premiere one man songwriting/production/multi-instrumentalist machine, Aldo Lonobile, who assumes these exact duties on Soulbound (and go figure, also plays in Edge of Forever with Del Vecchio). Whereas Del Vecchio comes from a more AOR/hard rock persuasion, Lonobile always struck me as Frontiers’ go-to “metal guy”, especially considering his work with acts like Secret Sphere and Death SS.
These metal leanings are all over Soulbound, and McAuley’s iconic AOR vocals suit them VERY well. Admittedly, there is the occasional non-metal outlier scattered about. High energy cuts like the opening “‘Til I Die” and “Let It Go” are reminiscent of Alter Bridge styled active rock, albeit executed much better (Sorry Myles Kennedy, but you’re no McAuley!). “Crazy” is textbook ’80s AOR pop if I’ve ever heard it, the obligatory palette cleanse for those who prefer their melodic rock on the soft and accessible side. As for the rest of Soulbound, if you like your metal to be melodic, anthemic, and uplifting, you’re in for a treat.
The title track contrasts light and darkness like a lost Yngwie Malmsteen cut circa ’88, a brilliant heavy AOR ballad. “The Best of Me” gives off Van Halen vibes with its tasty double bass drumming and hard-nosed riffing, while “Bloody Bruised and Beautiful” might be McAuley’s most traditional metal-esque performance to date, although I’m sure one of you will drop a McAuley Schenker Group deep cut in the comment section to counter this claim. Mixed in between are straightforward, no-nonsense arena metal hymns like “Paradise”, “One Good Reason”, and “There Was a Man”, which balance heaviness and hooks like an old school Dokken album.
Now as you know, heavier doesn’t always mean better, but in this case it does. Not only is Soulbound McAuley’s heaviest album to date, but I’d argue the songs are his strongest and most memorable yet, at least in terms of this new Frontiers-curated solo run. I look forward to seeing how far McAuley dives down the heavy metal rabbit hole come album #4. Perhaps that one will be the inevitable prog/power/symphonic foray à la the aforementioned Joe Lynn Turner? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Until then, we’re bound to be spinning Soulbound on repeat!
7 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: Melodic Heavy Metal
For fans of: McAuley Schenker Group, Dokken, Yngwie Malmsteen
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