Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to catch former Kivel Records recording artists TALON live on several occasions and to be quite honest, I was never overly impressed. The band's 2008 release "Fallen Angels" was pretty good and showed some sparks of greatness with Chandler Mogel at the helm but shortly after, Mogel left the band to front some stellar releases for the Greece outfit OUTLOUD. Since then, the band has gone through several personnel changes. When I caught the band at last year's MelodicRock Fest II in Elgin, Illinois, the band was fronted by a guy named Dave Friday who did a decent job but again, nothing super spectacular. So when I received a copy of TALON's upcoming release "III" the first thing I did was check out the credits to see who was singing for the band now and sure enough, it has changed once again! But this time around it seems the band went out of their way to recruit some quality musicians adding keyboardist extraordinaire Eric Ragno to their roster as well as LINE OF FIRE vocalist Shawn Pelata taking over microphone duties.
And not only that, the band snagged Ty Sims (Talon/ TANGO DOWN) to mix the CD and signed to Escape Music. So with a new label, some new musicians and a little help from some of the best in the industry, lets see what "III" has to offer.

The CD opens up with an aggressive, heavy rocker entitled "Crying To Me." Pretty much what I expected, this fast-paced melody builds to a slightly more melodic chorus and keeps Pelata growling in the lower register most of the song... not bad just nothing special. But wait! This leads into a more medium-paced track called "The Last Time" which takes Pelata's vocals up an octave where they are definitely a LOT more impressive and features some nice hooks which roll into an almost Valentine-esq chorus and solid guitar solo.

The next track "Did You Have To Say" is just incredible and definitely one of the best tracks on the CD. The keyboard accents by Ragno really enhance this smooth, melodic rocker... especially in the chorus which is filled with some incredible harmonies and a nice guitar-driven instrumental break just before the final chorus. Very well done!

"Everytime" is another great track. A bit more aggressive but still maintains a rich, melodic melody with some more of those thick harmonies in the chorus and some more stunning guitar breaks and fills. Then "Take You All The Way" really turns it up a notch with an almost 80's Yngwie feel to it and as an extra special bonus, world-class vocalist Jeff Scott Soto makes a guest appearance on vocals for this one and really adds his own finesse and style to this killer, guitar-driven composition.

At the half-way point of the CD, some soft, acoustic guitar begins "Maybe One Day." Pelata's vocals really get a chance to shine on this more somber ballad which kinda reminds me in style of DOKKEN's "Don't Walk Away." Then kicking it back into the same vein as "Everytime," "You Don't Know Me at All" is another impressive, up-tempo melodic rocker with another solid, memorable chorus which will have you toe-tapping and singing along in no time and "Walk Away" revs it up again only this time Pelata is in complete control and equally as impressive as Soto was earlier on a high-powered number like this.

"Brothers" simply defines this entire CD. This is the kind of power-ballad you could imagine being played on every radio station and MTV over and over and over again back in the day. Opening with just Pelata accompanied by an amazing piano driven melody, it builds into a powerful and absolutely brilliant chorus, complimented by a short, tender guitar solo which leads into a final chorus which will just wanna make you stand up and applaud! Perfect... just perfect.

"When Will I" is an edgy, mid-tempo rocker featuring a tremendous melodic chorus filled with some tasty harmonies and a sweet guitar break which is one of the best on the CD. This is followed by the thick, guitar layered rocker "You Got What It Takes" and then finally rounding out the release is TALON's version of the STARSHIP hit "Jane." While I must admit, I do miss the higher range of Mickey Thomas on this one, Ragno really impresses adding his own, unique pizzazz and underlying melody which drives this song to its fullest potential.

With the exception of the opening track, I must say that "III" really took me by surprise in more ways than one. Fans of VALENTINE, STARSHIP and STRANGEWAYS will absolutely eat this up but any fan of the genre will definitely find something tasty to satisfy in this sweet slice of melodic-rock pie!