The V-Now or Never

Frontiers Music srl
2015

"Now or Never" will drop on July 10th and you had to have known that this would eventually happen. It's just surprising that it took this long. After all we are talking about one hell of a singer here! And there's no way that you could have kept her out of the main spotlight forever! Just in case you're in the dark I'm talking about Veronica "The V" Freeman releasing her own solo album. Yes, that's Veronica Freeman of Benedictum fame and here on "Now or Never" she's leaving the past behind and finally stepping up so that she can fulfill her true destiny. Veronica Freeman is a real, honest to goodness solo artist. In much the same way it took Doro leaving Warlock and both Joan Jett and Lita Ford stepping away The Runaways, Veronica Freeman has move beyond the band that helped make her a household name and finally come into her own. That is should she ultimately decide to take hold of the opportunity. All loyalties aside, "The V" (as Veronica is now known solo project) is simply too good to be held back by Benedictum. For her sake I do hope that she sees that. On the fittingly-titled "Now or Never" The V worked with various songwriters and a huge list of guest musicians in order to create a perfect solo outing. And really that's "Now or Never" in a nutshell. The V's solo debut is jam packed with great melodic hard rock songs that are well-written and proudly executed and there are more than a few numbers here that will ultimately get stuck in your head for ages! Other than the numbers "King For A Day"*, "Love Should Be To Blame"**, and "Again"**, "Now or Never" was produced by John Herrera and from that stand-point you simply can't go wrong! The production on "Now or Never" is top notch and everything falls into place nicely. Obviously Veronica is the album's main point of focus, but even as powerful and passionate as her voice is it never overshadows the album's instrumentation. That's a comforting thought given the (impressive) who's who list of guest musicians (see below) on "Now or Never"! To name just a few we have Michael Sweet (Stryper), Gary Bordonaro (The Rods), Jeff Pilson (Dio, Dokken, Foreigner, etc.), Jimmy Durkin (Dark Angel) and Mick Tucker (Tank). The album opens strong with "Again" and this fantastic number helps set up the disc's great title track and before long you release you've heard three killer cuts in a row by way of "Roller Coaster"! That said, "Now or Never" is really one good song after enough and although I do have my favorites ("Again", "Line In The Sand", "Love Should Be To Blame", "Kiss My Lips", "Spellbound", and "Below Zero") this is easily a album that you could listen to all the way through without every hitting "Skip"! As varied as the guests are on this album (Michael Sweet and Jimmy Durkin?) the music of "Now or Never" is actually fairly consistent. It's essentially hard rock/melodic heavy metal that's been maxed out by Grade A Rock and topped off by Veronica's sensational voice! I will say this. While Veronica Freeman has always been a great hard rock/melodic metal singer (she has the potential to be one of metal's all-time greats!) I really fell in love with her voice on "L.O.V.E." (no pun intended!). On this rock-steady track you will discover that all of a sudden Veronica has adopted the role of rock singer. Not a metal singer. No, she is a rock singer. As in rock and roll. And she is drop-dead sensational in this role! Could The V conquer heavy metal and rock? It's a good question and one that I'd like to ponder. Either way this upcoming album is a deal-breaker. The V needs to be doing her own thing and she should not let anyone hold her back. "Now or Never" is all the proof you need to make that judgment call and if you're a fan of Veronica then this CD will merely reaffirm what you already knew. 



*"King For A Day" was produced by Kenny Lewis.
 
**"Again" and "Love Should Be To Blame" were produced by Michael Sweet.

"Now or Never" Line-up:
 
Veronica Freeman – Lead Vocals
 
Leather Leone – Duet Vocals  on "Kiss my Lips"
 
Tony Martin - Duet Vocals on "King For A Day"
 
Meliesa McDonell- Additional vocals on "Starshine" & Acoustic Guitars
 
Pete Wells, Michael Sweet, Peter Tentindo, Jimmy Durkin, Mick Tucker, Jordan Ziff, and Michael Harris  – Guitars

 Jeff Pilson, Mel Brown, Garry Bordonaro, Aric Avina, John O’Boyle & Mike Lepond- Bass

 Derek Kerswill- Drums
 

Sunday Singles: The Rods (featuring Veronica Freeman)-"Smoke On The Horizon"

David Feinstein / Nire
2015

Welcome to a special edition of Sunday Singles. Today we will be talking about the hard & heavy rock-fest that is "Smoke On The Horizon". This recently-released single finds Veronica Freeman and The Rods collaborating on a four plus minute barn burner with this (so far at least) one and done recording all but written with rock radio in mind! This joint venture could best be viewed as heavy metal's past and hard rock's present colliding mid-air for some red hot destruction with the two distinct styles actually complimenting each other. On "Smoke On The Horizon" the Benedictum front-woman manhandles the microphone with Veronica "The V" Freeman's humongous voice shattering glass and destroying more than a few building foundations along the way! You'll be surprised to find The Rods actually taking a back seat to this powerhouse of a lead singer with the U.S. power metal trio mere putty for this fiery front-lady to mold! Even so, "Smoke On The Horizon" find The Rods doing what they do best and their timeless take on American metal is as blistering as it gets! As a first collaboration between these four veteran musicians this rocking number has a nice bit or bite to go along with it's loud bark and it points towards the possibility of this becoming a legitimate, full-time project if everything else were to fall apart for the parties involved. You can find "Smoke On The Horizon" at the usual places including iTunes and CD Baby.

Benedictum-Obey

Frontiers Records
2013

Due for release at the tail end of November, and once again produced by multi-instrumentalist Jeff Pilson (Dokken, Dio and surprisingly even Foreigner!), "Obey" is the forth studio-album from Veronica Freeman and Benedictum. It's also another prime example of why this San Diego, California-based traditional heavy metal act deserves their fine standing in the rank and file of U.S. metal acts and why, despite the mixed reactions to the group's last studio-album, 2011's "Dominion" (which I liked and gave a positive review to as can be seen at the link below), you just can't count out a group like this! With "Obey" it's easy enough to look past Benedictum's last album as, simply put, this group, which was formed back in 2005, is solid gold when it comes to true heavy metal. When you're talking about a band that blends the likes of Judas Priest, Warrior, Dio, Warlock (Veronica Freeman occasional even sounds like Doro which is a really good thing folks!), Rainbow and Savatage into one great package and also features a stunning lead vocalist with a powerful set of lungs in Veronica Freeman, Benedictum proves to be far too good to be ignored! On "Obey" Veronica 'The V' Freeman and superb guitarist Pete Wells are now joined by bass player Aric Avina (formerly of Tynator) and well-traveled/seasoned veteran (and all around cool drummer!) Rikard Stjernquist (Body of Scars, Ballistic, ex-Jag Panzer, ex-Karen Kenedy and ex-Sargon). Additionally you have keyboardist Tony Diaz and "Obey" features guest appearances by Tony Martin (ex-Black Sabbath/Cage) and A Sound Of Thunder's lead vocalist vocalist Nina Osegueda. That cut, "Thornz", finds the two equally gorgeous vocalists converging on one sweet cut and, along with the opening number, "Dream Of The Banshee", the title cut "Obey", "Scream" and many others, shows off a band that knows what works best and how to go for broke when the time calls for it! Both "Crossing Over" and the cut which features guest musician Tony Martin, "Cry", show Veronica's range and prove that she is so much more then just a metal goddess!  While those cuts show the softer side of Veronica the tracks "Dream Of The Banshee", "Scream" and "Fractured" deliver powerhouse vocals with Benedictum's stunning lead singer coming across as a little Leather Leone in nature as well as someone who could still be could be Udo Dirkschneider's long lost sister (see my review of "Dominion" for that reference point!). At just about 50 minutes in length, and covering a carp-load of ground from the 80's metal-inspired opener "Dream Of The Banshee" to the Mötley Crüe-like "Apex Nation",  "Obey" is a fun album that is easy to enjoy and never feels as if it's over staying it's welcome. While many question whether the move to Frontier Records would be wise for Benedictum when it comes to "Obey" all signs point toward a band that knows what it's doing and where it wants to go. In the end "Obey" is simple metal in the sense that it's more classic sounding then modern and it's fashioned in such a way that it plays to the strengths of real heavy metal (from glass-shattering lead vocals to shred the dead lead guitar solos) without seeming overly cheesy or as if the band is trying too hard. This is a good album from a good band and one release that I'll be looking to add to my personal CD collection! 

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