NAZARETH: Tattooed On My Brain (HARD ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

After 46 years of good and loyal service and 23 studio albums to which we must add 9 live albums, Dan Mc Cafferty had to abandon his mates from Nazareth for health reasons. It was first of all Linton Osborne who replaced the historic and legendary singer in 2014, for a few concerts. Finally, it was Carl Sentance (formerly of Persian Risk) who was given the job in 2016 and who is officiating on this 24th opus of the Scots. In 1999, Sentance had already replaced a legendary frontman in the person of Marc Storace (Krokus) and the experience quickly turned short ("Round 13"). It is therefore to be hoped that such a shipwreck will not be repeated with the Agnew brothers' gang.

Everybody will quickly be reassured when listening to "Tattooed On My Brain" which, if it won't reach the level of the references of the Nazareth discography ("Razamanaz", "Hair Of The Dog", etc...), will still be able to claim a good place. 'Never Dance With The Devil' opens the hostilities with a big Deep Purple-like riff and keyboards straight out of the 70s. The eponymous track is a fun and catchy piece with an unstoppable chorus and an energy that seems to be destined to become a future single of the band. The dynamics of this track reminds a bit of 'Hair Of The Dog' and Carl Sentance confirms that he is not here to be an extra. As the compositions prove to be varied and efficient, as Jimmy Murrison multiplies the solos and the incendiary riffs and as the Agnew brothers represent a rhythmic section always dynamic and flawless, everything is in place to make this "Tattooed On My Brain" a great opus for all the fans of traditional and varied hard rock.

There are fiery boogie-rock ('State Of Emergency', 'Pole To Pole'), more bluesy tracks that are sometimes reptilian ('Push') or offering good big riffs between AC/DC and Led Zeppelin ('The Secret Is Out') and even winks to southern rock with country-folk touches ('Rubik's Romance'). It's a pity that a soft belly appears in the middle of the album with tracks that are more dispensable without being really weak ('Don't Throw Your Love Away' and 'Crazy Molly'), especially as the sequel starts again with a new very Deep Purple track ('Silent Symphony') with virile choruses and a hyper efficient riff and a 'Change' alternating folksy verses and explosive choruses. '

Successful transition for the Scottish Hard Rock monument with a convincing and reassuring change of singer and a nice set of tracks as effective as catchy and varied. Nazareth, in turn, proves that it is still necessary to count on the dinosaurs of the genre that succeed one another to offer us opuses that remind the new generation that their elders are still there and that they still have value as an example. - Official website

NAZARETH

TATTOOED ON MY BRAIN

FRONTIERS RECORDS

HARD ROCK