Review | Dark Mile – Dark Mile

Pride & Joy Records

Another new melodic hard rock band comes to life as Dark Mile, consisting of longtime friends: Mark Huff (lead vocals), Tracy G. (guitar), Paul Alfery (guitar, keys) and Randy Oviedo (bass guitar), hit the streets with their debut album. The members of this ‘new’ band are definitely not new to the hard rock music scene. Huff sang two years (2010-2012) with Quiet Riot, Tracy G. played guitar in Dio’s band from 1993 till 1999, while Alfery is known from Walk the Walk and Oviedo from the band Streek.

OLD SCHOOL MELODIC HARD ROCK

Now, these four guys release their debut album, featuring twelve old-school melodic hard rock tracks. If you only look at the rather cliché titles of the songs – for instance: ,,United We Stand” or ,,Where’s The Love” – you might think that this is not a very original album, so you might “skip” it or ignore it. That would be a huge mistake! ‘Dark Mile’ is in fact an impressive rock album packed with killer tracks, featuring great musicianship with crunchy guitars, catchy choruses, impressive singing, and superb melodies.

Opener ,,The Boy” sets the tone for this impressive album. A track with solid vocals, a formidable lean and mean guitar riff, a great, furious guitar solo and when Huff sings ,,I wanna rock” Twisted Sister comes to mind immediately. What a way to start an album. The guitar licks that start follow up ,,No Deal” have a high AC/DC calibre and the song really is a hard rock killer, just like ,,I Can’t Help You”. The band slows down a bit with the instrumental interlude, being a melodic guitar solo ,,Like Never Before”.

SEVENTIES INFLUENCED

,,Anybody Listening” is not a fast song like the two opening tracks. However it features some heavy, but very melodic elements reminding me of notorious bands like Dokken or Winger. Of course, this album also has a power ballad, and it is called ,,Games”. It stands out due to the fine melody and the powerful vocals of Huff. Tracks like ,,He Said, She Said”, ,,Maybe On A Sunday”, ,,Know Me” and ,,Where’s The Love” are seventies like influenced hard rock songs, featuring catchy melodies and addictive choruses. So, sing or scream along if you like….

,,Lies” closes this melodic hard rock/metal album in a fine way. Showing again that the sound of Dark Mile is drawn from the years of experience that these guys have. The song writing is excellent, the production is impressive and the vocals, the rhythm section – who plays the drums on this album, by the way???? – and the guitars are utterly hard rock bliss.

CONCLUSION

‘Dark Mile’ is a MUST have album for lovers of melodic hard rock/metal. The only comment I have is that the song titles are so f…. cliché. But there is always something to nag about it, right?

Play it LOUD and scream along, dance along, headbang along and play your air guitar along; nice one, lads!!!

Listening tip: ,,The Boy” (at maximum volume, please!!!)

Release date: 12 July 2024