Airrace

Anyone ever heard this band? I saw this in the used bin tonight:



Pretty obvious that it's something from the 80s. Haha. I checked the back: originally released in 1984, got a reissue in 2003 on CD, I presume. Then I see that Jason Bonham is on this one. It's only $5.99, so I grabbed it.

I played the first track when I got home and quickly figured I'd trade it off. It's an insta-ship on lala. The first track, "I Don't Care," is heavily laced with that cheesy 80s synth pop sound. Aside from that, the song is rather good, in that cheesy 80s synth pop way. Great chorus. But I'm not totally into that light, fluffly, synthy 80s rock stuff. Track two, however, convinced me to keep the album. It's a lot heavier. It's still got that 80s sound, like early Foreigner, but with a nice, crunchy guitar tone. The rest of the album is pretty similar in style, some songs heavier than others, but the first song threw me off a bit.

I gotta admit, after the first spin, I'm really diggin' this CD. Quite a surprise, actually. Very catchy. I'd never heard of the band before tonight. Anyone else heard them?

EDIT: I didn't even noticed they were pimpin' Jason Bonham on the cover of the CD! Haha.

A Bonham on the drum? It's the son but he sounds good too. How's are the vocals?

Here's a sample:

AIRRACE - OPEN YOUR EYES

Vocals are excellent. Apparently Jason was 17 when he joined this band.

Thank you (I'll listen to this sample tomorrow.)

Did I put this in this forum? Whoops. Meant to go in the rock forum.

Eyesore wrote:

Anyone ever heard this band? I saw this in the used bin tonight:



Pretty obvious that it's something from the 80s. Haha. I checked the back: originally released in 1984, got a reissue in 2003 on CD, I presume. Then I see that Jason Bonham is on this one. It's only $5.99, so I grabbed it.

I played the first track when I got home and quickly figured I'd trade it off. It's an insta-ship on lala. The first track, "I Don't Care," is heavily laced with that cheesy 80s synth pop sound. Aside from that, the song is rather good, in that cheesy 80s synth pop way. Great chorus. But I'm not totally into that light, fluffly, synthy 80s rock stuff. Track two, however, convinced me to keep the album. It's a lot heavier. It's still got that 80s sound, like early Foreigner, but with a nice, crunchy guitar tone. The rest of the album is pretty similar in style, some songs heavier than others, but the first song threw me off a bit.

I gotta admit, after the first spin, I'm really diggin' this CD. Quite a surprise, actually. Very catchy. I'd never heard of the band before tonight. Anyone else heard them?

EDIT: I didn't even noticed they were pimpin' Jason Bonham on the cover of the CD! Haha.

They were mentioned in a thread on this site that I had started regarding a band I am in need of help with. I listened to the song and it reminded me of a cross between Triumph and Loverboy. Overall, not too shabby. Peace.

Triumph and Loverboy. I can see that, though I'd say Loverboy, from what I know of the band, is a lot cheesier. Haha.

Someone mentioned them here before? I shall look...

I have this album on vinyl and i like it. You should also check out VIRGINIA WOLF eyesore because BONHAM is on it and its also melodic hard rock/hard aor.

It's a little bit Pop but not too much. I love this.

Yeah, Ken, I really like this album. Only discovered it a few years ago. I have to qualify that I do have a high tolerance for keyboard laden pomp etc., so it ain't for everybody. And a warning. My weakness for synths originally crept in from stuff like Moontower, Amorphis, etc; I used to hate keyboards. You may very well have contracted the same disease.

SAHB Healer wrote:

Yeah, Ken, I really like this album. Only discovered it a few years ago. I have to qualify that I do have a high tolerance for keyboard laden pomp etc., so it ain't for everybody. And a warning. My weakness for synths originally crept in from stuff like Moontower, Amorphis, etc; I used to hate keyboards. You may very well have contracted the same disease.

Man, I love some keyboard work. There is a fine line between cheesy and awesome, though. Moontower is awesome (what a killer album!). Airrace gets a bit cheesy from time to time, but more or less just on that one song. It's only when that keyboard tone dominates the sound that it gets cheesy for me. Regardless, I love keyboardists like Erik Norlander and Richard Andersson. Some killer stuff right there.

By the way, nice to see Moontower getting a mention here.

One of the best keyboard songs ever is "Remorse and Regret"; from Nightingale "I". My favorite tasteful synth-as-accent song is Amorphis "Of Rich and Poor".
Frippe Ericksen (Tad Morose, Morifade) is excellent. But once I started liking the synths, it was only a matter of time before Andre Anderson (Royal Hunt) got ahold of me- and he's nearly as bombastic as Keith Emerson, maybe more so. About as subtle as a fire alarm.

Oh, look! You're from Cheeseville. That explains a ton! Haha.

There is a hammond, I believe, used rather prominently in a new Iced Earth song. Is that crazy? Haha. I couldn't believe it when I heard it.

It can happen to Iced Earth too. Today a little Hammond honking, tomorrow they are touring with Dennis DeYoung. Case in point, the Mantas solo album from '84.