First the history lesson. Belfast's Stormzone, namely vocalist John “Harv” Harbinson, guitarist Keith Harris, Stephen Rosser on keys, bassist Peter Rondo Macken  and drummer Julian Watson, have all been around the block musically speaking. Indeed Harbinson had previously been involved with the likes of “Sweet Savage”, “Emerald”, “No Sweat” and “Den of Thieves” prior to putting together Stormzone in 2004. The accompanying bio to the CD states that they play “powerful melodic rock ….. and have a shared belief in the music of Whitesnake, Praying Mantis, Deep Purple, Dio, Journey and Queensryche”.  Quite a bold statement if I may say so………. 

Right, what can I say about “Caught in the Act”?  Well, it was obvious right from the beginning that these guys lay their roots firmly within the classic rock genre because as soon as the first track, “Spellbound”, started the links to classic “Rainbow” jumped straight out and smacked me between the eyes.  Then within a few bars the Vox Box effects joined in and there was Bon Jovi. Not a bad start, and that was only within the first 20 seconds.  Then, things changed.  The vocals cut in…………… guess what - things got even better. 

“Harv” has one of those Rock voices that stands out from the crowd.  He can sing low, mean and moody and then go so falsetto that you can only imagine his testicles are being tweaked by 10,000 volts.  But no matter what part of the scale he is singing in, you can hear word for word what he is singing about.  His voice is clear, crisp, and perfect for their style.  Keith on guitars is a behemoth and there are riff laden melodies all over the place – give him a gap in the music and he will squeeze another one in.  In fact, if you listen carefully, you will hear that he manages to crank a few off even when there isn’t a gap in the singing.  Stephen on keys goes a long way towards given the group it’s 70’s/80’s sound with his omnipresent sounds, always there but never at the front taking over.  He even manages to have a little solo spot on “Beating of my Heart”, which is almost Surivor-esqe in its sound, but a lot rockier.  As always, bringing up the rear, are the rhythm section of Peter and Julian who keep all things tied together with a solid bass line and beat perfect drums. 

I can’t go into the songs in detail; I would be here for ages.  What I will say is that they have taken Classic Rock, given it modern touches, made it more vibrant, refreshing, crisp, and even added balls where needed to produce a collection of Rock that deserves to be played, with the volume set at 11.  This stuff could fill stadiums and is the perfect companion when driving.  Even though I know the members have been around the rock world for a while, I find it hard to believe that this is their debut album.  I believe that there were a couple of self financed released before so the question that needs answering is “why has it taken so long for these guys to be picked up by a label?” 

Ok, you’ve figured me out, I like this release.  I like it a lot.  Thank god for [generic] MP3 players with a repeat facility.  You may have realised by now that there is resurgence in the Rock and Melodic Rock genre and I can assure you that given the right press, and proper marketing, these guys will be one of the forerunners, and deservedly so. Undoubtedly the future will see even more from the band and one can only imagine them getting better over time but until that time comes Caught In The Act' gets this reviewers wholehearted recommendation to buy, buy, buy and rest assured it it will be a welcome addition to anyone’s collection.

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Track List

Spellbound
Hold Onto Her Love
Stranger Things Have Happened
Nervous Breakdown
Crying In The Rain
Call Of The Wild
Beating Of A Heart
New World
Tuggin' At My Heartstrings
Sky High
Rock On Through The Night

Line Up

John Harbinson - Vocals
Keith Harris - Guitars
Stephen Prosser - Keyboards
Peter Rondo Macken - Bass
Julian Watson - Drums