Former STRANGEWAYS and current GIANT front man Terry Brock is set to release his second solo album in short order on Frontiers Records. Brock, who is hot off his appearance at the MelodicRock Fest II (Elgin, IL) a couple months ago and is set to partake in a reunion of STRANGEWAYS in October at the Firefest show in the UK will release “Diamond Blue” on August 27th and based on the fact that he has SLAMER cohort Mike Slamer(guitars) helping out on “Diamond Blue” I sensed this could be another winner right from the start. By the way, that SLAMER record was my record of the year in 2006.

“Diamond Blue” opens with the title track and it’s a monster; you can hear the Mike Slamer influence right off the bat with his solid and chunky guitar tone. Vocally, Brock takes command with his smooth vocals and the great chorus just completes the picture. The song is a great leadoff track and you notice you are in for treat production-wise as it’s crisp and full.

The mid-paced “It’s You” is a smooth, all-out AOR number where the production shines as it also does on “Jessie’s Gone”, where Brock seems to turn his vocals up a notch. “Jessie’s Gone” is an awesome AOR rocker with some killer guitar work from Slamer.

“No More Mr. Nice Guy” turns up the aggression with a killer guitar riff and abrasive attitude. It’s mixes a more up-to-date feel with traditional AOR to great effect. It is a song that I could certainly see having been featured on the previously mentioned SLAMER album. After the aggressive “Nice Guy” you get the first ballad of the album with “The Rain”. The song is all about Brock’s excellent vocal delivery.

The ominous sounding opening guitar riff of “Broken” sees the modern element return to the music once again. The song is not a full-on rocker but more of a mid-tempo number with great chorus. I love the drum sound on this one and Slamer adds some nice guitars in addition to that great riff. I really like how the album brings elements of modern production and sounds yet always retains the melodic structure within the song. Brock and Slamer seem to come up with something special when they work together.

“Face In The Crowd” is more of a straight-ahead AOR number that works well with underlying acoustics throughout and a great chorus while “Why” mellows a bit but stills retains the AOR glory with a punchy and powerful delivery of the chorus.

“Too Young” has a bit of a DOKKEN-inspired riff but the song doesn’t reach the heights of songs before it. Slamer goes of a bit with nice results but overall the song is not as memorable as many others on the record.

The emotionally charged “Soldier Falls” is an epic number with great arrangement and the lyrics take center stage. With lines like “A Solider falls and another heart is broken” and “the one she loves she can’t embrace” are simple but so very true and Mr. Slamer provides a short but nice solo on this one.

The album is rounded out with “Face In The Night”. It’s a mellow acoustic/piano ballad with a nostalgic feel and is a nice way to close out “Diamond Blue” on a quiet note.

It’s pretty clear the Terry Brock/Mike Slamer union is a special one and I rate “Diamond Blue” only a shade below the monster SLAMER record the duo put out back in 2006. Still, this is a top-quality release for 2010 and lovers of melodic rock and AOR will be well served to look into it on August 27th.