Review SOLEDRIVER ‘Return Me To Light’

Alessandro Del Vecchio is involved in many of Frontiers Music’s productions and this time the multi-instrumentalist is working with Michael Sweet, who many of you may know as the voice of Stryper.

The two are operating as Soledriver and are releasing with ‘Return Me To Light’ an album packed with eleven songs. As you would expect, these are melodic rock songs with catchy melodies and a good production that have the potential to stick in the listener’s ear canals.

There is no doubt that the album is technically well done. Crystal clear and equipped with the necessary power, songs like the rocking ‘Eternal Flame’ reach the listener. Soledriver take their inspiration from the sound of the 70s in general and bands like Journey and Toto in particular.

The fact that guitars are involved becomes apparent at the beginning of ‘To Be Saved’ and you actually want more of it. However, the song gets quieter again in the verse and we are back in the standard pattern. More rock consistency can be found in the opener ‘Rise Again’ before we get to listen to a rather standardized AOR song called ‘Anymore’.

To summarize, ‘Return Me To Light’ is a well-made AOR respectively melodic rock album in which two experts in their field show what they are capable of. However, despite all the hooks and successful melody lines, the album offers no surprising moments and even if the sugar-sweet melodies are captivating, little remains after 45 minutes, because the impression remains that a lot was created on the drawing board.