Review: Alcatrazz- Born Innocent
It may have taken 34 years, but Graham Bonnet has reactivated Alcatrazz and they’re back with their first record since 1984’s Dangerous Minds and it was more than worth the wait.
They open the record holding absolutely nothing back. The instrumentals are so intricate you’ll just lose your shit listening to it and it’s a lot to take in but totally hypnotizing and that’s before Bonnet’s vocals even kick in. They really came out swinging early-on with this one and the songs have meaning behind them- it isn’t rock and roll just to be rock and roll- they tell stories here.
After a few tracks, they slow it down- not to a ballad- and really catch their stride before “We Still Remember” shows a softer side of the band but it also keeps the steady pace going. Musically, there’s material that would make fans of bands like Styx, Stryper, Boston and Rainbow but the key to it all is that they’ve modernized those sounds to appeal to a whole new audience too and it should work.
With Born Innocent, Alcatrazz has been reborn, rebirthed and proves that it doesn’t matter how long it takes, a good album is a good album and Alcatrazz prove here that they still got it.
Rating: 9/10
-Reggie Edwards