NEBULAE

A return to 1982. Retro classic rock. The lovers of this album must have missed the music of the early 1980s. The sounds and feel of bands like Saga, Styx, Loverboy, 707, Poison, Kiss, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Quiet Riot, Megadeth, Van Halen, and, yes, even Michael Jackson are very present here. Granted, "Strength" comes at you from a more recent time with a harder edge to it (though the presence of the ghost of Thin Lizzy is very strong here), but the rest of the album left me waiting for something new, something revelatory of this band's mission. If it's merely to exalt in the glory of the aforementioned bands and/or to revive that approach, then count me out this time around. I liked a lot of it ("Before," "Lust," "Loss" and the epic, "Otherworldly"); I just don't feel the need to hear it anymore. A good album. No more no less. Certainly not essential. Not even something that I would recommend. But, as always, check it out for yourself. I'll be curious to see how many people are listening to this regularly ten years from now.