Born Innocent (Alcatrazz album)

Last updated

Born Innocent
Born Innocent (Alcatrazz album).jpg
Studio album by
Released31 July 2020 (2020-07-31)
Genre hard rock, heavy metal
Length57:58
Label Silver Lining Music
Producer
  • Giles Lavery
  • Jimmy Waldo
Alcatrazz chronology
Parole Denied – Tokyo 2017
(2018)
Born Innocent
(2020)
V
(2021)
Singles from Alcatrazz
  1. "Polar Bear"
    Released: 2020
  2. "London 1666"
    Released: 2020
  3. "Dirty Like the City"
    Released: 2020

Born Innocent is the fourth studio album by heavy metal band Alcatrazz, released in 2020 by the label Silver Lining Music. [1] This is the band's first studio album release since Dangerous Games in 1986, marking the longest gap between two studio albums in the Alcatrazz discography. Several months after the album's release, it was announced that Graham Bonnet and the other members of the band would be parting ways, with both continuing to record as Alcatrazz separately. [2] [3]

Contents

Background

Born Innocent features performances by founding band members Graham Bonnet on lead vocals, Jimmy Waldo on keyboards, and Gary Shea on bass guitar. It also features the first Alcatrazz studio album appearances of drummer Mark Benquechea, who had previously appeared on the 2018 album Meanwhile, Back in the Garage by the Graham Bonnet Band, and guitarist Joe Stump, a Berklee Professor of Guitar. To celebrate the reunion of three of the original members of the band, a number of other musicians were asked to make guest appearances on the album, namely:

Chris Impellitteri, who wrote and performed guitar on the track "Born Innocent"

Bob Kulick, who wrote and performed on the track "I Am the King"

Former Alcatrazz guitarist Steve Vai, who wrote the track "Dirty Like the City"

Jeff Waters, who performed on the song "Paper Flags"

Nozomu Wakai, who performed on "Finn McCool". [1] [4]

Bob Kulick died in May 2020, two months prior to the album's release.

The band released music videos for the three singles, "Polar Bear", "London 1666", and "Dirty Like the City".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Blabbermouth 8/10 [4]
Classic Rock Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]

Born Innocent received positive reviews upon its release, with reviewers complimenting the performance of 72-year-old lead vocalist Bonnet. [5] The album was said to be "on par" with the band's older work, an achievement in view of the almost three and a half decade interval between releases. The sound of the 2020 incarnation of Alcatrazz was noted as being in keeping with the rock and heavy metal of the 1980s but with a fresh feeling and natural sound, lacking any hint of contrivance. One review noted that the album was a "well rounded effort". [4]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Graham Bonnet (except noted below)

CD [6]
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Born Innocent" Chris Impelliteri3:05
2."Polar Bear" Graham Bonnet4:34
3."Finn McCool" Nozomu Wakai4:31
4."We Still Remember" Dario Mollo, D. Kendall Jones4:02
5."London 1666"Giles LaveryJoe Stump4:59
6."Dirty Like the City" Steve Vai3:48
7."I Am the King" Bob Kulick5:29
8."Something That I Am Missing" Mollo4:35
9."Paper Flags" Jimmy Waldo3:59
10."The Wound Is Open" Kulick3:47
11."Body Beautiful" Stump4:59
12."Warth Lane" Mollo6:15
13."For Tony" Bonnet3:59

Personnel

Alcatrazz

Charts

Chart (2020)Peak
position
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [7] 36

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yngwie Malmsteen</span> Swedish guitarist (born 1963)

Yngwie Johan Malmsteen is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning over 40 years. In August 2009, Time magazine named Malmsteen No. 9 on its list of the 10 best electric guitar players of all-time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiss (band)</span> American hard rock band

Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss. Known for their face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid-1970s with shock rock-style live performances which featured fire-breathing, blood-spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits, and pyrotechnics. The band has gone through several lineup changes, with Stanley and Simmons remaining the only consistent members. The current lineup consists of them, Tommy Thayer, and Eric Singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prong (band)</span> American heavy metal band

Prong is an American heavy metal band formed in New York City in 1986. The band is fronted by guitarist/vocalist Tommy Victor, Prong's sole constant member. To date, they have released 13 studio albums, one live album, four EPs, one DVD and one remix album.

<i>Down to Earth</i> (Rainbow album) 1979 studio album by Rainbow

Down to Earth is the fourth studio album by the British hard rock band Rainbow. It is their last album to feature drummer Cozy Powell and their only album with vocalist Graham Bonnet. Released in 1979, it contains Rainbow's first hit single "Since You Been Gone", marking a more commercial direction of the band's sound.

Alcatrazz is a heavy metal band formed in 1983 by Graham Bonnet, Jimmy Waldo, and Gary Shea. They are best known for their songs "Island in the Sun", "Hiroshima Mon Amour", and "God Blessed Video". They are also notable for featuring a previously-unknown Yngwie Malmsteen as their lead guitarist for a year, who was then replaced by Steve Vai, with whom they recorded one album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Kulick</span> American guitarist and producer (1950–2020)

Robert Joel Kulick was an American guitarist and record producer, who worked with numerous acts such as Kiss, W.A.S.P., Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Meat Loaf, and Michael Bolton. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was the elder brother of former Kiss lead guitarist Bruce Kulick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doogie White</span> Scottish singer

Douglas "Doogie" White is a Scottish rock vocalist who currently sings for La Paz and Alcatrazz. He has also notably sung for Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Praying Mantis and Tank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Loomis</span> American guitarist (born 1971)

Jeff Loomis is an American musician, best known for his role as lead guitarist in the progressive metal band Nevermore during its existence from 1991 to 2011, as well as brief tenures in its precursor, Sanctuary. In 2014, he joined Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, and in 2021 he joined Graham Bonnet's Alcatrazz as well. As a solo artist he has released two albums and one EP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Bonnet</span> English singer

Graham Bonnet is an English rock singer. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri. He is known for his powerful singing voice but is capable of also singing soft melodies. His singing has been noted as "very loud" by both his contemporaries and himself, and he claims to be a self-taught singer with "no discipline for lessons". Bonnet's visual style, considered uncharacteristic of hard rock musicians, has been described as being a cross between Don Johnson in Miami Vice and James Dean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Corabi</span> American singer and guitarist

John Corabi is an American hard rock singer and guitarist. He was the frontman of The Scream during 1989 and the frontman of Mötley Crüe between 1992 and 1996 during original frontman Vince Neil's hiatus from the band.

<i>Disturbing the Peace</i> (album) 1985 studio album by Alcatrazz

Disturbing the Peace is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Alcatrazz, released in 1985. It is the band's only album to feature guitarist Steve Vai. The album remained for 7 weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart, peaking at No. 145.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steeler (American band)</span> American heavy metal band

Steeler was an early 1980s American heavy metal band that featured Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen upon his arrival in the United States. The band was founded in 1981 in Nashville, Tennessee, by vocalist Ron Keel and released one album on Shrapnel Records in 1983 before morphing into Keel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Impellitteri</span> American guitarist

Chris Impellitteri is an American guitarist and songwriter, who is the lead guitarist and founder of the heavy metal band Impellitteri.

<i>No Parole from Rock n Roll</i> 1983 studio album by Alcatrazz

No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll is the first album by American heavy metal band Alcatrazz led by veteran singer Graham Bonnet, released in 1983. It spent seven weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart, peaking at No. 128. The album precipitated guitarist's Yngwie Malmsteen solo career, and is most famous for the single "Island in the Sun".

<i>Live Sentence</i> 1984 live album by Alcatrazz

Live Sentence (1984) is the only live album released by the American heavy metal band Alcatrazz featuring the band's original line-up. The live concert recorded for the album was performed on 28 January 1984 at Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo. In addition to tracks from Alcatrazz's debut album, No Parole from Rock 'n" Roll, the album includes performances by Alcatrazz of songs from the Rainbow album Down to Earth recorded and released when Graham Bonnet, Alcatrazz's singer and primary lyricist, was the lead singer of Rainbow. According to Billboard, the album spent 16 weeks on the chart and peaked at No. 133.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd Kerns</span> Canadian musician

Todd "Dammit" Kerns is a Canadian rock musician who has worked with several Canadian bands, most notably The Age of Electric. He is currently the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for Slash in the band Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators. He's also the lead vocalist for the band Blackbird Angels, which he co-founded with Tracii Guns.

Anthem is a Japanese heavy metal band that was formed during the early 1980s in Tokyo. They are among the many heavy metal bands founded in Japan during that time and are considered to be one of the most successful and influential, alongside Loudness and Earthshaker.

<i>Dangerous Games</i> (album) 1986 studio album by Alcatrazz

Dangerous Games is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Alcatrazz. It marked a drastic departure from the band's two previous albums with its heavily Japanese-influenced style. It was also the first and only appearance for new guitarist Danny Johnson who replaced Steve Vai after he left the band to join the David Lee Roth Band in 1986, and the last studio album that Alcatrazz had released for 34 years, until the release of Born Innocent in 2020.

Blackthorne was an American hard rock project, that involved Bob Kulick on guitar, Graham Bonnet on vocals, Frankie Banali on drums, Jimmy Waldo on keyboards, and Chuck Wright on bass. The group released the album Afterlife through CMC International (US) and Music For Nations (Europe) in 1993.

Conrado Pesinato is a Brazilian guitarist, songwriter and music producer. Pesinato is a current member of the Graham Bonnet Band, having Graham Bonnet as its lead singer.

References

  1. 1 2 "Louder Sound - Alcatrazz launch Born Innocent" . Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  2. Blabbermouth (8 June 2021). "ARCH ENEMY's JEFF LOOMIS Joins GRAHAM BONNET's Version Of ALCATRAZZ". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  3. Blabbermouth (4 June 2021). "DOOGIE WHITE-Fronted Version Of ALCATRAZZ Releases First Single, 'Turn Of The Wheel'". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Gorania, Jay. "Blabbermouth - Alcatrazz- Born Innocent Review" . Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  5. 1 2 Sharp, Johnny (31 July 2020). "Louder Sound Classic Rock - Alcatrazz's Born Innocent Review" . Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  6. "All Music - Alcatrazz- Born Innocent Overview" . Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  7. "Swisscharts.com – Alcatrazz – Born Innocent". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2021.