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Moonstone Project

Rebel On The Run

Written by: PP on 11/09/2009 17:42:01

To all Italians who were pissed off about my recent Lunacy Box review (that album was terrible): see here's an Italian band that's actually pretty fucking amazing. The band in question is Moonstone Project, spearheaded by Matt Filippini, a respected touring/studio musician for some of the biggest classic rock acts throughout history. The album, "Rebel On The Run", reflects his godlike status in the rock community, as the list of guest musicians involved in the project is nothing short of amazing: Ian Paice (Deep Purple), Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult), Steve Walsh (Kansas), Glenn Hughes (Trapeze, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath), Graham Bonnet (Rainbow), Kelly Keeling (Michael Shenker Group), James Christian (House Of Lords), Tony Franklin (Firm, Whitesnake, Blue Murder), Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Blue Murder, King Cobra, Rod Stewart), Paul Shortino (Rough Cutt, Quiet Riot). Now if sexy, classic rock with a modern vibe to it is your thing, then let me tell you that it doesn't get much better than on this record.

As for how they sound, well, the promo material says it better than I ever could: "this collective has created fiery original songs for the next generation, steeped authentically in the fine tradition of bluesy British 70s rock ala Deep Purple, Rainbow, Uriah Heep, Zeppelin & Bad Company". In other words, this is pure arena rock with sexy solos and smoother than smooth transitions between different sections of each song. If you've ever found yourself complaining about the lack of soul in today's releases, then you'll find all the soul you'll ever need packed into a single release right here. And because the list of guest musicians is so vast, there's enough variety here to feed an army. "Moonster Booster", for example, feels like a rock tribute to Michael Jackson (I can almost imagine the singer moonwalking during the song...), whereas "Sinner Sinner" is a straight forward classic rock song with Deep Purple-esque hypnotic electronics circling the sound. Then you can jump to "From Another Time", a cheeky, groovy rock 'n' roll track with a bouncy rhythm and funkylicious bass.

The album's centerpiece "Rebel On The Run" is destined to be a classic in the future. The guitarists show off their astonishing riff-writing skills everywhere on the track, and the chorus is absolutely brilliant, full of emotion and passion, and lots of trippy Hammond organ on the background that makes the listener feel like he's on an acid trip. This is Deep Purple / Pink Floyd territory all right. But what's perhaps my favorite part about the album as a whole is how modern it manages to sound despite referencing a genre from three decades ago. Nowhere on the album does the band sound dated, as is the case with almost every other band referencing the 70s and 80s. Instead, "Rebel On The Run" sounds like the most relevant album written in many, many years.

Download: Rebel On The Run, Moonster Booster
For the fans of: Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Blue Oyster Cult, Led Zeppelin
Listen: Myspace

Release date 02.06.2009
Blistering Records