Serafino Perugino, president of Frontiers Music, possesses the unique ability of teaming up musicians on his roster in exciting, new projects. His latest supergroup, if you will, is Revolution Saints which features Deen Castronovo of Journey on drums and lead vocals, bassist supreme Jack Blades, and guitar whiz Doug Aldrich. Their self-titled debut album is a terrific set of classic, melodic rock songs.
This is the first time Castronovo has sung lead for an entire album and he does an exemplary job and of course kills it behind the kit. The talent and musicianship of Blades and Aldrich are definitely second to none. The record really captures that eighties melodic rock sound without dating the band, courtesy of Frontiers in-house producer Alessandro Del Vecchio. “Locked Out of Paradise” is a mid-tempo rocker, perfect for summer time. One of the best tracks is “Dream On” which really made me feel like jumping in my car and taking off down the road singing the song all the way. A signature piece vocally for Deen is the ballad “Don’t Walk Away” and don’t miss the melodic guitar solo by Aldrich in “To Mend A Broken Heart” and the uplifting feel of “Better World.” Some of Castronovo’s Journey bandmates appear on the record as well with Arnel Pineda lending his vocal stylings to “You’re Not Alone” and Neal Schon laying down some of his magical guitar on the powerful “Way To The Sun.”
I can only hope that Revolution Saints isn’t a one off project. These guys play as if they’ve been together forever and Castronovo’s performance will have you wondering why he hasn’t been singing lead all along.
