Some artists are so passionate about melodic rock (or AOR, if you prefer) that they'll ignore trends, risk ridicule and abandon all reason to indulge that passion. Bassist and keyboardist Lec Zorn is that kind of artist, and It Began In the Underground is the kind of album you would expect to hear from a guy like Zorn – who was raised on Kansas, Survivor, Boston, Styx, Queen, Shooting Star and Asia. It Began In the Underground actually began back in 1995, when Zorn started assembling a team of fellow modern-day AOR-sters to lay down the dozen tracks that make up the melodic monsters here. Big vocals, bigger choruses and huge hooks make it feel like 1985 all over again.
Check out this (partial) guest list: vocalists Tracy White (Shotgun Symphony) and Pierre Wensberg (Prisoner), guitarists Tommy Denander (Radioactive) and Mike Walsh (Departure), and keyboardist Eric Ragno (Vox Tempus, Takara). Everyone plays with sheer abandon, as if It Began In the Underground will be the last AOR album ever made. Indeed, from the first notes of the cleverly titled, keyboard-driven instrumental opener "Lecoverture," it's clear that grunge, boy bands and nü-metal never happened in Zorn's world. Even the song titles let listeners know immediately what the dude is up to: "Eternal Flame." "Fighting Chance." "Long Time Coming." "Second Chance." "The Rush of Passion's Fire" (lifted from a Survivor lyric, obviously). Positive pomp trumps everything, and Zorn emerges as the ghost of an arena-rock hero who's finally living the life he's wanted since, well, forever.
Track Listing:
1) Lecoverture
2) Long Time Coming
3) Second Chance
4) Play the Game Tonight
5) Eternal Flame
6) Fighting Chance
7) You Keep Me in the Dark
8) Starting All Over Again
9) The Rush of Passion's Fire
10) Perseverance
11) Going the Distance
12) Second Chance (Alternate Take)
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