CORNERSTONE — Human Stain (review)

Album · 2002 · Hard Rock

3/5 · 2022-10-23
lukretion

Denmark-based ensemble Cornerstone wasted no time and, less than two years after their excellent debut Arrival, released their sophomore record Human Stain. The band came together in 1999 as a collaboration between Royal Hunt’s bassist Steen Mogensen and former Rainbow’s singer Dougie White. The rest of the line-up playing on Human Stain is comprised of drummer Allan Sørensen (Narita, Royal Hunt), guitarist Kasper Damgaard, and keyboard player Rune Bring. Long-time Royal Hunt collaborator Kenny Lübcke sings backing vocals, and guitarists Jacob Kjaer (also Royal Hunt!) and Tony Rahm (Prime Time) provide solos in a couple of tracks.

Royal Hunt got mentioned quite a lot in the previous paragraph, but that shouldn’t give you the idea that Human Stain is a sort of Royal Hunt B-sides project. There are of course moments in the music when we are reminded of the symphonic bombast of the Danish maestros, but the album’s overall sound is quite different, and so are the main influences it draws upon. Soundwise, the album is much more guitar-centred than any album Royal Hunt have ever recorded. The bass also sits quite high in the mix and is a prominent driving-force throughout the record. This gives Human Stain a ballsy, no-frill hard rock sound that sets it apart from the lush symphonic productions of Mogensen’s other band.

The most striking difference, however, lies in the influences that Cornerstone take on board on this record, namely Rainbow and Ronnie James Dio. This was also the case on the band’s first LP Arrival, although that album lived in a more unique and special sonic space, mixing classic metal, hard rock and blues. Human Stain shreds off some of those influences and follows more decidedly the classic heavy metal sound of Rainbow. In some instances, the similitude with Ritchie Blackmore’s band is uncanny, also thanks to Dougie White’s voice that is remarkably similar to Ronnie James Dio’s, showcasing that irresistible mix of grit and melody that the American singer mastered so well.

The influence of Rainbow defines the album sonically, but also holds it back when it comes to assessing its overall standing in terms of contribution and originality. There is not much going on in this record that you will not have heard somewhere else before (most likely on a record where Dio was singing). Moreover, despite the generally good quality of the material included here, the comparison with those early Rainbow records remains firmly in favor of the British forerunners: no matter how good songs like “Wounded Land”, “House of Nevermore”, and “Midnight in Tokyo” are, they will never manage to outcompete untouchable classics like “Stargazer”, “Kill the King” or “Rainbow Eyes”.

Ultimately, Human Stain lives and dies by its influences. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable collection of high-quality songs, well arranged and with plenty of catchy melodic hooks that make them memorable. It’s hard to shake off the deja-vu feeling, however. But if you can ignore it, Human Stain is a great record to spin once in a while.