If there’s one thing Frontiers is great at, it’s keeping ’80s hard rockers busy. Perhaps no ’80s hard rocker has been busier these past few years than Michael Sweet. Aside from fronting everybody’s favorite yellow and black clad Christ metal warriors, Stryper, Sweet teamed up with Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns infamy for the retro flavored Sunbomb and laid down rhythm guitars and backing vocals for supergroup Iconic (AKA Whitesnake sans David Coverdale). Lest we forget the on again, off again Sweet & Lynch? Of course, 2023 wouldn’t be complete without Sweet finding himself in yet another new project, SoleDriver.
In SoleDriver, Sweet assumes frontman duties alongside every melodic rocker’s favorite multi-instrumentalist/songwriter, Alessandro Del Vecchio, who handles virtually every other aspect of their debut outing, Return Me to Light. One could call this a meeting of old school and new school. However, those with even surface level knowledge of Del Vecchio’s oeuvre are well aware of his love for all things ’80s. If it weren’t for him, there’s a very good chance Hardline wouldn’t be an active band anymore, but that’s another discussion for another day.
Characteristic of Del Vecchio, but not so much of Sweet, Return Me to Light is a full fledged AOR outing. The most comparable efforts in Sweet’s back catalog would be his oft forgotten early solo output. In this regard, it’s intriguing to hear this, as of recent years, fiery metal singer flex his vocal talents against music characteristic of ’80s heroes Magnum and FM. Yes, Del Vecchio, ever the natural, has hopped into the musical time machine yet again, gifting us with such AOR gems as “Rise Again”, “Pieces of Forever”, and “Spinning Wheel” that boast the production values and musical prestige of yesteryear.
Thematically speaking, I’m not sure if I’d go so far to call this a “Christian album”. It is, however, dominated by uplifting and spiritual lyrical content. This isn’t surprising when you consider Del Vecchio’s increasing spirituality (mentioned in an interview with yours truly) and Sweet’s entire career. Put these two aspects together and you’ve got the perfect musical storm for this type of melodically inclined music. Sure, there are some heavy moments in cuts like the euro flavored “To Be Saved” and Purple tinted title cut. “Eternal Flame” is even a glorified sugar-coated pop rocker. Nevertheless, these sporadic outliers aside, there’s no denying Return‘s AOR cred.
Although there are a few songs I’d do away with (I was getting some “fill the CD” vibes towards the latter half), Return Me to Light is a rather muscular outing of AOR at its purest. There’s serious musical chemistry between Sweet and Del Vecchio, chemistry that shouldn’t be ignored only for these two to move onto the next inevitable project. Furthermore, I’d love to see SoleDriver take on different styles within these journeymen’s scope. Say this is their AOR album. Why can’t the follow up be a blistering power metal affair? The possibilities are absolutely endless when these two take to the studio!
7 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: AOR
For fans of: Stryper, Magnum, FM