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Being friendly with many in the industry really has it ups and when the word got out about Kieran Dargan (Firefest organizer) mentioning that there is an amazing CD being released shortly by WHITE WIDDOW, I jumped at the chance to make contact with the band and low and behold “Serenade” arrives in my mailbox.
First thing I noticed about the release was that it was recorded at Solid State Studios in Melbourne, Australia and mixed and mastered by Pelle Saether (GRAND DESIGN). I got excited once I knew Pelle was involved. It’s funny when you start work on a review of a new release the names involved start to get familiar after a while. Lead singer Jules Millis and bassist Trent Wilson both members of the shock rock band THE DEADTHINGS, guitarist Enzo Almanzi was part of a VAN HALEN tribute band, Xavier Millis DUBLIN AUNTS and I have no idea about Jim Naish so put them all together and you have one heluva unit of arena masters called WHITE WIDDOW, who by the way released their self title CD in 2010 to acclaimed reviews.
Once those first keyboard notes on “Cry Wolf” started I knew this was a special record. The opening song blasts with chilling yet smooth vocals by Jules Millis and the sensitive keys by Xavier Millis make the song soar. It has that tasty flare of EUROPE, Mr. MISTER and Ted Poley with a pure arena feel. Damn I gotta listen to that again. Enzo Almanzi goes off with some tantalizing solos too on this one.
Jumping to track three “Do You Remember”; it sure sounds like DEF LEPPARD had some influence on this one as it’s just a nice slow rocker with amazing harmonies. Can you say hourly radio rotation if this was the 80’s???
“Reckless Nights” has that juicy flavor of Ted Poley’s solo band and brings the cream to the top with a killer melody, choruses and lyrics that will amaze and not to mention those outstanding vocals.
“How Far I Run” is unbelievable; these are songs most bands could only dream of! The song starts off with memorizing keyboards and bounces right into trance-like vocals. I really like its melodic side yet has that harder edge that can bring the hard rockers in. It’s a great tune and this one blows me away!
The title track “Serenade” starts off with some sentimental acoustic guitar and works its way to a soft rocker that has a VAN HALEN meets DANGER DANGER vibe. It a good song but I like so many on the disc it’s hard to single one out over another. I love the structure of the track and the arrangements between keys, solos and harmonies.
One thing I applaud WHITE WIDDOW for is going out and getting Pelle Saether because it shows that you need a good mix and “Show Your Cards” shows the quality of production on “Serenade” also check out the amazing keys by Xavier Millis on this one too.
Bringing the levels up on “Mistake” adds to making this a classic tune. It’s yet another track that blows me away. This is one of the finest releases I’ve heard this year and it brings back memories when band’s tunes were played over and over on the radio and you just couldn’t wait for that song to be played again. Many on this disc have that feeling just as the next track “Patiently”; a phenomenal ballad that could end up being one of those love songs that skyrocketed up the charts if this was 1989.
Now why didn’t I know about Enzo Almanzi and his gun-slinging guitar work before? This guy takes it to another level. He’s not a shredder but man can he provide some whoop-ass guitar licks and solos plus check out some appetizing acoustics on “Love Won’t Wait”. It’s nice that WHITE WIDDOW end on a high note with this explosive rocker.
This is an unbelievable release with no fillers; just pure ecstasy. Patience people you gotta wait until Sept 23rd but if you jump over to the WHITE WIDDOW official site you can get a little taste before then.
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