A great slab of retro sounding melodic rock.

D'Ercole, the band set up by Damian D'Ercole and Phil Vincent, released the follow up to the 2010 D'Ercole album 'The Art Of Self Destruction'. The name of the new album is 'Rock Scar' and this CD is another fine example of a group of like minded people who get a kick out of writing melodic rock, which they obviously love, and then recording it for the many other lovers of the genre. 

Ok, Ok I know nothing on here is that new or that original in it's outlook, but I don't really care about that because D'Ercole have recorded twelve highly melodic and decidedly catchy songs that anyone who calls themselves a fan of hard rock will want to hear. 'Find Your Way' is a prime example of this, pink and fluffy (copyright Derek Oliver) keyboards abound on this song, which are then joined to an infectious guitar riff that gels into an excellent hookline. Which is just what we all want from our melodic rock isn't it? Doesn't end there though, 'Dying Breed', 'Never Had It So Good' and the wonderful 'Face In The Crowd' are again melodic rock heaven, and took me back to the eighties heyday for this type of music.

My only gripe (and I hope it's just my promo copy) is the production, which to be honest is a little muddy in places, though this does not detract from the fact that 'Rock Scar' is a great slab of retro sounding melodic rock. Hopefully this album will see Phil Vincent, Damian D'Ercole and their friends finally getting some of the recognition they so richly deserve.

Ian Johnson