Stephen
The first album in ten years, 'On The Line' is highly anticipated by their cult followers and it's also a surprising move because VAIN decided to went back to their debut style. This is a similar approach with their latest album, 'Enough Rope', but the difference is 'Enough Rope' is clearly identical with 'No Respect' while 'On The Line' is a bit varied, probably a slight cross with 'Fade' and with some other elements too.
Every single song is just enjoyable, but as far as I recall, nothing really stood out like in 'No Respect' or 'Enough Rope'. The best tracks here are 'Drag Me', which strangely also reminds me of GOO GOO DOLLS; 'On The Line' is catchy and dark; the atmospheric ballad, 'Turn To Stand'; and two other uptempo songs, 'Lie For Love' and 'Keep Shining On'.
Two weaker songs are 'Last Sin' and 'Cover Me', both are slower tunes but I won't call em filler though. 'So Free Now' is melodic and 'Slave' has some nice grooves. All in all, this is a very good release by a very good and underrated band. The production is also great. One of those albums you desperately need to buy especially if you're a fan of VAIN.