Radiant is a five-piece hard rock band from Northern Germany; they formed in 2014 when vocalist Herbie Langhans (Voodoo Circle, Avantasia), guitarist Flo Gottsleben and bass player Markus Beck (both ex-Seventh Avenue) got together, recruited drummer Manni Spalka and lead guitarist Carsten Stepanowicz and began to write and record in the old fashioned way…not by email, but by playing in the same room and working as a unit to craft the fourteen songs on their eponymous debut album. They are a very polished outfit with an 80s/90s rock approach and, I guess, evoke a mix of their previous bands with a bit of Scorpions and the melodic touches of Bad Girl style Rainbow, particularly on ‘I’m Alive’.
Opener ‘Yes I Am’ sets out the agenda with a very well structured piece of rock that ticks a lot of the boxes… great riff, multi tracked vocals with a catchy chorus, although the thing that stood out on first listen for me was the bass which is genius and we even get a sort of bass solo too. Keyboards and then the bass and guitar duet lead in to ‘Silver Linings’ that, in some hands, would be an AOR cliché, but here it has sufficient weight instrumentally and vocally to lift it beyond that. ‘You Rock’ has a Dio edge and is nearly as much fun as his ‘We Rock’ and has a great guitar solo in it. ‘Heroes’ starts a little like Whitesnake and evolves into a Y&T type of epic. ‘Paint The Grey’ has piano to introduce another great bass line as it builds and brings an edge to a ‘heavy ballad’. ‘My Own Way’ with the acoustic guitar and key generated strings is the true ballad here and, shades of BJ aside, is a strong display. Closing track ‘Hit The Night’ has a crowd (overdubbed?) on the intro and plenty of ‘whoa-whoas’ to get a real crowd joining in. A classy guitar solo adds to the enjoyment.
So if you like rock melodic and heavy with strong performances all round, then you will enjoy this one…nothing particularly new, but what is on display is extremely well crafted and performed.
