Phil Vincent has released a lot of albums. By my count,
‘Path Of destruction’ is his nine hundred and twelfth, although I may be a few
out. Buolt like a brick shithouse and determined to bring the same weight to
his music, Phil is never less than entertaining, and although the Tragic stuff
still sees him write everything, the addition of extra musicians does seem to
bring a new dimension to his songs.
This latest album sees Phil teaming back up with his Legion
cohort and serial guitar guest Vince O’Regan, who pops up for lead guitar
duties, with other long term cohort Damien D’ercole adding his own guitar licks
to the songs. Opener ‘Look At me Now’ is a catchy piece of work, accentuated by
Eric Ragno on keyboards, and manages to be punchy as hell with a stiff melodic
backbone. It’s great to hear Phil’s vocals improving slightly, with some good
harmonies bolstered by a crystal clear production. It’s a pretty accurate
indicator for the rest of the album, which mixes crunchy riffs, melodic
choruses and some sweet guitarwork throughout. Worthy of note is track three,
‘All The Time In the World’, which ranks as one of Phil Vincent’s most melodic
pieces of work, culminating in a skin chafing solo from O’Regan.
The run time of 55 minutes is bolstered by track six, where
it all goes ambitious with a five part song called ‘Lake Of Tears’, clocking in
at nearly seventeen minutes. To be honest this doesn’t mean that Phil has gone
all prog rock or anything (thankfully), and the time flies by, even if the
reading of it as a single track means I can’t listen to the parts as individual
tracks without faffing about. A little later the album closes with ‘Thank You’,
a sweet song of thanks that could be directed towards a mother or God.
‘Path Of Destruction’ can stand proudly at the top of the
Phil Vincent catalogue, providing 55 minutes of quality melodic rock mixed with
big riffs and very tuneful vocals. You can’t fault his ambition in chucking in
a six part song, nor his talent for catchy choruses, but you can fault the
decision to stick a picture of a fake breasted scantily clad lady on the inner
sleeve (not to mention the arse shot on the back). This makes a very decent
album look tacky and dated, and I was genuinely embarrassed that anyone else
should see it, especially after getting interested queries from those hearing
the music as I reviewed it.
In the end, it’s the music that counts, and with that in
mind I can thoroughly recommend this album. There’s not a dull moment to be
had, not a track that begs to be skipped. If you’ve ever liked one of Phil
Vincent’s many albums and projects, from solo to Legion, then Tragik will make
you a very happy music fan.
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