Robin Ross has pleasantly caught our attention lately, either with Robin Ross & The Melodynes or Robin Ross & The TW Howlers. Now he returns with a solo single, “Blood Lines”, on which he collaborates with the highly capable hard rock/metal vocalist Carmine Gontz. So, what is it all about? Clearly, and from the very first listen, we understand that we are dealing with an inspired, well-written mid-tempo classic hard rock/melodic metal song that could easily have appeared on an ’80s Judas Priest album. “Blood Lines”, composed by Ross, Frank Cinquegrana (drums) and Joe Torres (bass), is built around Ross’ guitar textures and Gontz’s expressive voice, with the latter initially delivering an ethereal performance before reaching a lyrical crescendo. Throughout this epic power ballad, Ross delivers some excellent guitar solos, while the keyboard parts are equally impressive. The song’s arrangement is truly imaginative and exemplary, the emotion it conveys is genuine and rich, while the only aspect we could criticize is the production, handled by Ross at Baa Baa Leaf Music Studio and mixed with master engineer Jonathan Duckett, which could perhaps be a little cleaner. Lyrically, the song deals with family, passing generations and the invisible bonds that connect us to those who came before and those who will follow. Ultimately, “Blood Lines” is a great hard rock/metal song from two artists who clearly know the hard rock/metal way and understand the aesthetics of the genre extremely well. Robin Ross again surprises us with an anthem that will blow your mind!
♦ 8,5/10
Dimitris Zacharopoulos
