Search - Brazen Abbot :: My Resurrection

Kotsev continues his muse in the same vein

Paul Lawrence | Australia | 06/09/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Now don't get me wrong, I like Kotsev and his playing and his selection of collaborators. But it has to be said that the only growth in this band/project is a slight wandering into more orchestral, keyboard oriented work rather than the more traditional 'classic rock' stylings of Live and Learn.



This is a solid Brazen Abbott effort with nothing much new, a full bodied hard rock production where there isn't tunnel vision concentration on any one instrument. The production is smooth and teflon coated like you'd expect and the vocalists are well chosen and on top form, Kotsev seeming to be able to get the most out of any and every frontman he's ever worked with - and there has sure been a few!



Really even though Kotsev won't rewrite musical history he does continue to produce good party rock albums, anthemic motivate the losers kinda material and really this album is probably worth 3.5 stars, maybe more on a good day. Fave rave would be the title track/lead cut, least favourite track would be Bad Madman, which is hokey nonsense despite some cool vocal inflections.



Overall a bit heavier than some other BA output in places and this isn't a bad intro to this band, showing the listener the kind of middle of the road, toothless hard rock one can expect to find throughout the BA catalogue. And dig the piano solos, especially the one in Godforsaken...."

What's not to love?

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 03/01/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Well, there's no Jorn Lande this time around, but there is still plenty to love about Brazen Abbot's 2005 album My Resurrection. For one thing, guitarist and band mastermind Nikolo Kotzev has once again gathered an impressive array of vocalists. In addition to the returning vocalists Joe Lynn Turner (ex-Rainbow, Deep Purple) and Goran Edman (ex-Yngwie, Kharma, Street Talk), Tony Harnell (ex-TNT, Westworld) and Erik Martensson (Eclipse) are on board for My Resurrection. Another plus is the inclusion of a full orchestra to give the album a grander scale.



The symphonic elements are a nice touch, and fortunately they're not used to cover up sub-par songwriting. Kotzev's songs are very well written, and benefit from lyrical content by each of the various vocalists. The songs start with a strong Journey/Foreigner/Rainbow classic melodic rock sound, and the symphonic elements give them a Styx-like rock opera feel. All of the vocalists give great performances, but the songs by Joe Lynn Turner and Tony Harnell really stand out. The guitar work and production is also first-rate, but I've come to expect nothing less from Kotzev.



I can't see how this album could possibly disappoint melodic rock fans, let alone deserve the 1-star rating a previous reviewer left. Fans of any of these great vocalists will definitely want to pick up My Resurrection, as will fans of melodic rock in general."