A few years ago, Riot V frontman Todd Michael Hall dropped one of the biggest surprises of 2021 in the form of his debut hard rock album, Sonic Healing. Written and recorded with the help of his good pal Kurdt Vanderhoof of Metal Church fame, the album was and still is one of the best ’70s hard rock worship albums I’ve heard in the past decade. Every song resonated with this jaded rocker, faithfully throwing it back to a simpler era of all-day stadium blowouts and homegrown cannabis. It was a collaboration so compelling that it would be nothing short of criminal if it was a one and done affair.
Lucky for us, it’s not. Hall and Vanderhoof are at it again, and this time they’ve gone off the rails, figuratively speaking that is. Off the Rails is TMH’s second offering of all original hard rock. By and large, the formula remains the same as its predecessor. Hall and Vanderhoof assume the archetypal role of hot shot singer and riff-master guitarist, the kind of dynamic duo defined by the likes of Plant and Page, Tyler and Perry, and so forth. The question remains: Do these songs pack the same punch as said predecessor? Yes and no.
Although Off the Rails doesn’t immediately strike me the way Sonic Healing did, that’s not to say that the lion’s share of cuts on here are down n’ dirty, top shelf rockers. Whether it be feelgood singalongs like the title track and “Time & Place”, or heavy handed boogie bangers like “Can’t Get Enough” and “Sitting on Top of the World”, Off the Rails offers a full spectrum of air-guitar ready anthems. Hall’s vocals are charismatic and powerful as ever, while Vanderhoof taps into a tastier side of his playing that we don’t get to hear on a Metal Church album.
Similar to its predecessor, even the most metallic moments on here bear semblance to Hall’s primary band, Riot. Gut punches like “The Doctor” and “Roll Me Over” come roaring in like deep cuts off Riot’s Rock City, while one could be forgiven for mistaking “Lone Wolf” as a Rhett Forrester era curio, dripping in soul and swagger. And to think this was branded a “bonus track”! The only time Off the Rails truly goes off the rails is when it veers off into AOR/pop rock territory, particularly on ballads like “Start with Love”, “Part of Me”, and “Gone”. It’s not even that these songs are bad per se, but rather out of place amidst a collection of hard and heavy rockers.
Between Off the Rails and Riot V’s Mean Streets, Todd Michael Hall has spoiled headbangers and hard rockers alike this year. Frankly, the guy deserves a year off, but I’m sure he’ll continue rock the lot of us well into 2025 and beyond. With Hall and Vanderhoof conducting, I’m all aboard the high octane train that is Off the Rails. Here’s to hoping this collaboration continues to chug along with album #3, whenever that may be.
7 out of 10
Label: Rat Pak Records
Genre: Hard Rock
For fans of: Ted Nugent, Bad Company, Riot