Don't let the name fool you, Titanium Black are not some new goth concoction sent down to scare your grandmother and steal your girlfriend. In fact, the lads are quite grounded in, among other things, the good old boogie rock pioneered by lads such as Uriah Heep and Deep Purple and it shows during tracks such as "Celebration Of Suffering" (which says more in a mere five minutes than some sets say in 75) and "Deep," which imagines a highly emotional update of the Moody Blues after Justin and the boys spent an overnight bus ride trading licks with Opeth.
Elsewhere, the quintet, led by rock star-quality vocalist Terry Michael LeRoi, rocks exceptionally hard. Witness "Handful Of Lies," a tune with Arena Rock 1979 written all over it, or "Cracks Of Light," which builds like an old school Queensryche or Fates Warning song. In fact, this outing, produced by the legendary Michael Wagener (Dokken, Skid Row), has much in common with the 'Ryche's early work, specifically the moody, blood-chilling Rage For Order, a sometimes-neglected but nevertheless important release in the evolution of metal. (You'd probably find a few early Love and Rockets albums in LeRoi's CD wallet, right next to those from Humble Pie and Alice Cooper).
This particular brand of highly emotional, no-frills rock (fewer than even the Black Crowes) seems to be on the mend from years in the dark and Titanium Black could very well be one of the acts leading the brave charge toward the future. File Under: Rock's golden era is here again but it'll also be here tomorrow, too.
