Stephen
After the highly praised debut in 2003, Shannon continues their next effort, "Angel In Disguise", in 2008, still with the same style, same pattern. It's always a good thing if you're hunting a fun trip to the past but on the other hand, after repeat listening and comparing it to the debut, I came to an early conclusion that this album was thinner in quality than their debut.
Europe, Fair Warning, Dokken, Pink Cream 69, and Axel Rudi Pell are few names that are influencing their music. The derivatives of those 80s giants are obvious on tracks like "Do You Know?", "Hungry For Love", or "No More Lies". The first three tracks are strong, but when you heard "Keep On Rolling" and the next four tracks, suddenly you can feel the songs started to lack the necessary variety.
Uninventive approach in writing might be their flaw but they're the expert in combining all those great things from the past. Like in "Winter Night", the classic heavy metal comes into play and Del Valle's screaming reminds me of early Halford. "Hang On", is definitely a blast, the uptempo tune was crafted with a superior arrangement. "Road of Desire" has a unique Mediterranean flair on its intro, another good track to listen to, but an example that this kind of track is inferior to songs like "Reach For The Sky" or "Goin' Crazy" on their debut.
The guitarworks are somewhat enjoyable, Patrice Louis seemed to did a satisfying homework. While you can hear the occasional high pitch scream of Olivier Del Valle, he mostly sounded like a cross of Tommy Heart and Brian Johnson here. "Angel In Disguise" is what you'll get from bands in the 80s, very similar sound with almost no trace of modern element at all. If you like the debut, chances are high that you'll like this follow-up as well.