Multi-instrumentalist Mick Cervino – who has gigged with everyone from the G3 trio of Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai to Blackmore's Night – searched far and wide for the proper lineup to his latest project, Violent Storm. He seems to have found it in drummer Mike Sorrentino and vocalist Matt Reardon. In fact, so confident is Cervino in Violent Storm that he recently remixed, repackaged and retitled the band's 2005 debut. Unexpectedly short at less than 36 minutes, Storm Warning thunders with to-the-point old-school heavy metal bolstered by Reardon's grungy vocals. Muddy production, though, buries them beneath overpowering guitar leads – particularly on the tracks featuring blistering solos by impressive guests Malmsteen ("Fire in the Unknown" and "Pain") and KK Downing of Judas Priest ("War No More" and "Deceiver"). Of course, Downing produced this thing, so he can make his own guitars as loud as he wants, I guess. Nevertheless, the melodic and aggressive "Deceiver" emerges as one of the album's modt memorable tracks, joining "You Don't Care" and "Alimentary Fable."
Indeed, Violent Storm plays up a fury throughout Storm Warning. But the band also emulates many of the characteristics that make music by Priest and Malmsteen both so invigorating and infuriating. Almost too much attention is paid to the guitars, relegating drummer Sorrentino and even some of Cervino's bass and guitar synths to secondary status. That's too bad, because these songs deserve better. Reardon, especially, has the potential to rise above the overcrowded metal scene, and his treatment of Candice Night's lyrics on a soaring version of "Storm" by Blackmore's Night transcends the original and gives it an eerie air of Rainbow familiarity. Nothing wrong with that…
Track Listing:
1) War No More
2) Fire in the Unknown
3) Deceiver
4) Pain
5) Alimentary Fable
6) Screaming In Your Face
7) You Don't Care
8) Owning You
9) Empty Hope
10) Storm
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