(Hard Rock) THE DEAD DAISIES - Holy Ground album review

Release Date: January 22, 2021 (Spitfire Music) Written by Jeff Tighe Holy Ground sees the latest incarnation of The Dead Daisies release their fifth album. This band has already had 17 members depart since 2012, so stability in the line-up isn't something rhythm guitarist and sole constant member David Lowy cares about. This version of the band is fronted by legendary Black Sabbath and Deep Purple vocalist / bassist Glenn Hughes. Hughes will be 70 years old this summer, but he still has the pipes and bass licks of a man half his age. What the band have on tap here are 11 slabs of hard rock over almost 50 minutes that focus on heaviness rather than speed. That isn't to say the songs are slow, but generally they are mid-paced, riff based, lumbering behemoths that focus on Hughes' bluesy wailing and guitarist Doug Aldrich's blistering leads. This album has the feel of old school hard rock, but the sound is 21st century in production quality and has increased heaviness to keep it from sounding dated.

The best of the songs include the title track ("Holy Ground (Shakes the Memory)") and "Chosen and Justified". Some songs such as "Come Alive" are reminiscent of early '80s efforts by The Cult (when they were going for heaviness rather than rock'n'roll boogie). Some others such as "Saving Grace" are so heavy on the riffage they could have been on the sole Sabbath album with Hughes, the much under-rated Seventh Star. A couple of tracks, "Unspoken" and "Far Away" sound like they could be extra-heavy theme songs for James Bond movies (good ones, not Roger Moore efforts), and for the record that is a compliment if you didn't already know. Probably the weakest song on the album is a cover of Humble Pie's "30 Days in the Hole" which could have been jettisoned and would only have made the album better. A solid effort for fans of quality hard rock. (7.5)