Release date: February 24th 2014
Record label: Century Media

By: Ingrid
After a small line-up change, Adrenaline Mob is back with their second album, Men of Honor. How better to announce this, than starting your new album with an opener song which says exactly the same: ‘Mob is back’.

For those of you who don’t know Adrenaline Mob, let me introduce them first. Adrenaline Mob is what you call an ‘all-star band’. They were formed in 2011 by Russell Allen (vocals) who you might know from Symphony X and Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Mike Portnoy (drums, Dream Theater).

The latter of those two has left the band already and has been replaced by A.J. Pero (Twisted Sister). To complete the band we have Mike Orlando (Sonic Stomp) on guitars and John Moyer (Disturbed) takes care of the bass. They’ve releases their debut album Omertà in 2012, which got a lot of critisism, but hasn’t been totally sent to the bottom.

Now Men Of Honor is out, and immediately at the start they power up to a nice hard rock level and present us some no-nonsense songs like Mob is Back, Feel The Adrenaline and Men of Honor. But a hard rock album wouldn’t be complete without a little sensitivity on it, and therefore we have songs like the power-ballad Behind These Eyes and acoustic ballad Crystal Clear.

From the solo right at the start, all the way to the end, the album is led by the riffs from Orlando his guitar, supported by Pero and Moyer. But as great musicians as they might be, just like the first album this band probably wouldn’t have been noticed if it wasn’t for Allen on vocals. And even then, it somehow just lacks something. The album is powerful and indeed does have the energy (listen to a song like House Of Lies for example), but that real adrenaline rush that was promised didn’t happen. For the next album they really have to tune it up to eleven and don’t stick at ten.

I know that this project is about showing who they are as a band, and delivering straight forward hard rock instead of inventing something new; but still a little bit of originality wouldn’t be too much to ask for. I think that they are capable of much more! In the end, I don’t think this is a bad album, but I expected more.

Rating: 6/10
Track list:
1. Mob Is Back
2. Come On Get Up
3. Dearly Departed
4. Behind These Eyes
5. Let It Go
6. Feel The Adrenaline
7. Men Of Honor
8. Crystal Clear
9. House Of Lies
10. Judgment Day
11. Fallin’ To Pieces