Loud N’ Clear – Playing With Thunder (2013)

After a couple of rounds with “Playing With Thunder”, I almost rocked like a hurricane, but not quite in the way SCORPIONS would have wanted. Other than “Hold On”, which didn’t present the band in such a good light especially with the cheap BON JOVI direction, there have been more wonders.

“Poison Love”, the album’s greatest track and should be considered as the golden single, for some reason had me thinking of Speed Metal with that opening rhythm section and main riff that nearly cut me down. Though it didn’t have the piles of aggression and sleaziness of the jagged “New Solution”, which proved to be quite a compelling opener for this kind of album, I couldn’t let myself stop thumping the table or limit my excitement from “Poison Love”’s riffing. It was like a cool direction within the 80s DOKKEN world, plus additional groups from the US, along with a wild lead fretwork as an appetizer. “Rise” and “Breath” might not be in the same line as the previous songs, yet these songs musically are in a different level in comparison to the rest of the tracklist.

LOUD N’ CLEAR well mixed Hard Rock / AOR and Heavy Metal in a less straightforward manner while not fearing on being emotional rather than rough and tough. On the other hand, there have been times where I felt that “Rise” was a little bit stretched and “Breath” has been losing its flow right before every pre chorus.

“Playing With Thunder” is the cause effect of despair, rage and disappointments, yet it is also a fulfilment for Tommy-Foxx and his band, loyal friends that did what it has to be done to finally release material that they have been feeling and hearing about for years. In addition, this album is also a small story that emulates older stories of 80s band wishing to have their breakthrough to the big venues and stages. Who knows, if Israel wasn’t open enough to give LOUD N’ CLEAR a chance in the past, maybe the world will in the future.

Tracklist:
1. New Solution
2. Hold On
3. Rise
4. Without You
5. Poison Love
6. Breath
7. Runaway (Bonus)

Lineup:
Asaf “Rikki Reckless” Enav- Vocals
Amir Eldor- Guitar
Roman Chase- Bass
Tomer “Tommy-Foxx”Darmon– Guitar
Ralph Huber– Session Drums

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