Burn Halo - Up From The Ashes

Burn Halo - Up From The Ashes
2011, Rawkhead Records/ILG

Fronted by former 18 Visions singer/songwriter James Hart, Burn Halo returns on June 28, 2011 with their sophomore album, Up From The Ashes.  While Burn Halo's self-titled debut album was essentially a solo project, Up From The Ashes finds the band writing and recording as a team for the first time.  Joey Roxx (guitar), Brandon Lynn (guitar), Aaron Boehler (bass) and Dillon Ray (drums) all collaborated with Hart this time around, under the watchful eye of producer Colby Wedgeworth.  The result is a dynamic sound that is both commercial and original, with nods to the past while staying firmly planted on the edge of tomorrow.

Up From The Ashes opens with the album's first single, "Tear It Down", an incredibly catchy active rock number that's already getting a lot of attention from traditional and terrestrial radio.  There's a definite metal edge here, even with a slightly reserved production style in evidence.  "Up From The Ashes" is as catchy, with a huge hook in the chorus that will catch you up and carry you away.  Burn Halo shows the pop sensibility of early Bon Jovi here without forsaking the testosterone in their sound.  This might actually turn out to be a bigger single than "Tear It Down".    Up From The Ashes alternates solid album tracks with virulent rockers, featuring "Stranded" and the power-ballad style of "Threw It All Away" before showing off some wicked guitar work and a big, droning rock sound in "Alone". 

"Give Me A Sign" is done in power ballad style, a somewhat generic sounding number that gives way to the driven rock of hook-laden and memorable "Dakota".  "I Won't Back Down" sounds like it should be a WWE theme; don't be surprised if the song is licensed either there, or for a sports network.  This one is a potential sleeper hit, but probably needs the licensing tie-in to get the attention it deserves.  Burn Halo closes with "Shine", offering up an example of pop-metal at its finest.  This one is a huge anthem with serious punch, but a compressed musicality that's surprisingly deep.  It's a great ending to a very good album that borders on greatness.

Burn Halo turns the corner on Up From The Ashes, growing from a talented solo project into a complete band.  There's perhaps still some room to find the true depth of the band, Burn Halo appears to be very much for real.  Up From The Ashes shows a willingness to rock hard, even if the band's metal tendencies are held back bit in the production process.  Some of these songs could be absolutely over the top on stage.  Burn Halo might just be the big breakout rock act of 2011.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Burn Halo at www.myspace.com/burnhalo or www.facebook.com/burnhalo.  Up From The Ashes drops on June 28, 2011.  The album is available for pre-order on CD from Amazon.com.

Concert Review: Burn Halo; The Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY March 5, 2009

Today marks a couple of firsts for Wildy’s World! First off we’d like to introduce you to a correspondent who will review live shows for us from time to time. His nom de plume is rawdeadfish, and he’s an old college friend of mine who’s an expert in the realms of Punk and Hardcore, but is also the one responsible for introducing me to The Barenaked Ladies back when they were still touring in support of their “Yellow Tape”. He’ll be around from time to time picking up a show for us and sending in his thoughts for your reading pleasure. Also be sure to check out his website: http://www.rawdeadfish.com/.

Our first show review is the Burn Halo show at The Town Ballroom in Buffalo, New York from March 5, 2009. Here’s rawdeadfish’s thoughts:

I have to say that I was more impressed than expected by the March 5 performance of Burn Halo. I had never heard of the band or James Hart's previous band, 18 Visions, prior to being invited to this show. So I checked out their MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/burnhalo) and other online resources, and they sounded decent, but live, they were certainly more impressive. They had good stage presence and were right in the face of the audience.BH opened their 8 song set to a crowd of about 50 people with "Dead End Roads and Lost Highways" and got everyone bobbing their heads. They quickly broke into "Anejo", an upbeat, catchy, rock tune, that I'll have to say was my favorite. They went on to perform a few other numbers, talk with a crowd a bit, and dedicated the song "Our House" to the Buffalo Sabres, before finishing up with their single "Dirty Little Girl" and the pounding "Save Me".What I liked about Hart and the band was that they were not into gimmicks, or looks, they were just there to play and entertain. It was apparent too, because by the end of the show, they drew enough people from the front of the house to at least double the crowd.Burn Halo's self-titled debut album is due to arrive in stores on March 31, 2009. Check it out. Burn Halo will be touring throughout the spring. Check them out!

-rawdeadfish

http://www.rawdeadfish.com/

Review: Burn Halo - Burn Halo

Burn Halo – Burn Halo
2008, Rawkhead Records

Burn Halo front man James Hart is familiar to many Rock fans from his days heading up 18 Visions. When 18 Visions disbanded, Hart decided to pursue a musical project that encompassed his individual musical vision. Working with songwriter/producer Zac Maloy, Hart penned what would become Burn Halo’s debut. The album, also called Burn Halo, was scheduled to be released in early 2008 by Island Records, who unexplainably changed their minds, so Burn Halo will be released on Hart’s own imprint, Rawkhead Records on March 10, 2009. The recording features support from Daniel Adair (Nickelback), Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction) and Neil Tiemann (David Cook), with a special guest appearance by Avenged Sevenfold’s Synyster Gates.

Burn Halo opens with Dirty Little Girl, a rocking wall of sound with more life and hard edge in it than 99% of the stuff you’ll hear on the radio these days. This song might just be too hot for radio. Save Me is a huge guitar filled rocker that sounds like it’s a half step between 18 Visions and Metallica. The verses are heavy enough to please longtime fans and the chorus is commercial enough to break hard in Modern Rock and Metal formats. Here With Me has a little less of the slash and burn style to it, with Hart feeling out his pop sensibilities in very successful fashion. The most impressive thing about Burn Halo is the ability to rock hard but maintain a melodic pop mystique that is next to impossible. The best comparison I can think of goes all the way back to the glory days of Guns N Roses.

Every pop-metal album has a pre-requisite of at least one love ballad or one melancholy song about the one who got away. Too Late To Tell You Now fits in perfectly. This is perfect power ballad material with big guitar on the chorus, great harmonies and a cadence that will stick in listeners’ minds. So Addicted and Dead End Roads And Lost Highways are fairly typical Modern Rock fodder, although both carry Hart’s excellent grasp of pop timing and melody.

Lest you think Burn Halo is going soft, Our House is strong enough to rip it right off the foundations and may be the best overall song on the disc. Falling Faster revisits the prerequisite ballad requirement in one of the better power ballads you’re likely to hear in 2009. Anejo rocks in a frantic, pedantic fashion and has some amazing guitar work. Back To The Start is my favorite part of any hard rock album, when it occurs. A primarily acoustic tune that not only lets the melodic sense of the band shine through but also displays how truly talented the musicians are when all of the effects and distortion are stripped away. Burn Halo closes out with Gasoline, a melodic throwback to the sort of hair-metal anthems that dominated the airwaves in the 1980’s.

Burn Halo knows how to rock. James Hart has a wonderful melodic sense and an ability to craft these amazing pop songs with the hardest of edges. Breaking out from the safety of 18 Visions was a risk, and it was one well taken. Burn Halo looks to establish itself as one of the more talented rock outfits on the market. Burn Halo hits shelves on March 10, 2009. Look for this band, and album, to be everywhere in 2009.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Burn Halo at www.myspace.com/burnhalo. You can pre-order a copy of Burn Halo at Amazon.com.