Lynch, Tara: Evil Enough

Having worked with Belgian outfit Beyond The Labyrinth and, over the years, evolved from being primarily a singer into a guitarist who also sings, Evil Enough is the debut solo album from the multi-talented Tara Lynch. Considering that this lady is pretty much an unknown name in wider circles, what initially catches you off guard here is not just the calibre of the personnel involved, but the glowing manner in which they talk of their band leader.

Any album featuring the likes of Bjorn Englen, Phil Soussan (both playing bass), Vinny Appice (drums) and guitar virtuoso Tony MacAlpine (playing keyboards here) is pretty much guaranteed to have something going for it and Evil Enough doesn’t disappoint. What also takes you by surprise as the title track begins the show is that the voice delivering it isn’t that of Tara, but of Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen amongst many, many others) and, as you’d expect, he does a sterling job. As he does on the other cut where he takes the lead, “Trustless�, with the former being a melodic hard rocking piece of metal that adds an atmospheric, brooding edge. Whereas the latter turns into a more power-packed stomper that sits somewhere between modern day Dokken and Dio. “Antidote� reveals Tara as a more than capable lead singer herself, a harsher Doro-like bark added to a most welcome slice of Ann Wilson theatrics, while “Kringeworthy� (Tara’s spelling, not mine!) illustrates the latter aspect even more overtly through a slowly unravelling melody.

With the main-woman herself known to many as Gui-Tara, there’s no surprise that across this album her axe-work often takes star billing - and quite rightly so, because this lady can play. However, whether we needed a selection of instrumental cuts to emphasise the point will depend on how much you enjoy the shredding side of life. There’s no denying that the pompous, proud strut of “Exit The Warrior� and “Gui-Tara Rises� both benefit from riotous riffs and searing solos. But for me, with the addition of “Enigmatic� and “�Feckless Lock� taking the number of instrumentals to four of the ten tracks, they do break up the flow of the album just a touch too much; even if MacAlpine’s key-work on “Enigmatic� is reasonably astounding. When you factor in that there aren’t just Tara’s excellent vocals at this album’s disposal, but also those of Boals, it does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity.

Evil Enough is a strong first foray from Tara Lynch, a lady who is clearly talented both behind the mic and on the fret-board. However the pacing issues do make the overall listening experience just a little more forgettable than the album’s highlights truly deserve. If the next offering from Gui-Tara focuses more on her vocals and just a little less on her guitar histrionics, it really could be something of a triumph.

Track Listing
1. Evil Enough
2. Antidote
3. Exit the Warrior
4. Kringeworthy
5. Banished from My Kingdom
6. Gui-Tara Rises
7. Unbreakable
8. Enigmatic
9. Trustless
10. Feckless Lock

Added: October 5th 2018
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Tara Lynch online
Hits: 927
Language: english

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