poison sun virtual sin

Released: 22 November 2010 Label: Metal Heaven

This album from the newly formed Poison Sun leaps straight into old fashioned heavy rock in the manner of Baby Animals, Def Leppard, with overtones of AC/DC, Thin Lizzy and Girlschool. That’s not a bad thing, and to some it could sound a bit dated. If however, you like your heavy rock with an 80s bias, but contemporary production values, then this album may well arouse your pleasure. Don’t be fooled though, because it’s not all like that. They do transcend into power metal riffs and pace (Rider in rhe Storm and Virtual Sin) for a couple of tracks, and they hold it well, but the impression on this album is that they are more comfortable with heavy rock.

Martina Frank's husky  vocals are clear and strong, while husband Hermann displays solid and occasionally adventurous guitar work. The line up is completed by Florian Schonweitz (drums) and Stefan Hammer (bass). Isn’t that a good name for a bassist? They are a pretty solid outfit, with a lot of experience behind them, so you’d expect the quality to be good, and it is, but more importantly, there’s a sense of enjoyment as these four have gone about their work and that translates into the music.

The standout track for me has to be the cover version of the Pointer Sisters Excited, given a rock treatment and solid boot up the pace, but Forever gives it a good run, having a solid beat and clear harmony vocals running through it.

There’s a good variation of styles and influences through the album which stop it getting dull and old fashioned, in spite of the fact that it is old school heavy rock.

It’s an entertaining piece of work and is likely to feature in my collection for a while.

by Alan Thomson