For a project born in 1983, to release a debut album in 2019 may seem mind-boggling. Yet that's exactly what happened to Grand Slam, the combo created by Phil Lynott, the late singer-bassist of Thin Lizzy. Mixing vintage tracks with new compositions, the Irish band delighted fans of the giant with a "Hit The Ground". Indeed, since his death, the latter had had to make do with the work of Black Star Riders, to perpetuate the emotions of yesteryear. "Wheel Of Fortune" appears today with ten new tracks.
Reviving the past and embracing the future is the declared aim of Grand Slam, whose members include guitarist Laurence Archer, who held the post when Lynott died, and singer Mike Dyer. The latter had crossed paths with the late frontman when they were both in their fifties. The quartet offers a melodic hard rock where the legacy of the glorious elders is only felt in the background most of the time, with a few rare exceptions. This feeling comes mainly from the melodies and the way the lyrics are expressed, even if sometimes, at the turn of an intonation, the spectre of the Master appears.
Lovers of Thin Lizzy will leap for joy when they hear 'There Goes My Heart', whose riffs seem to have come straight from the Black Rose album, and 'Trail Of Tears', where Dyer's voice and Larcher's solo take us back in time. They'll also enjoy the only surviving track from 1984, 'Come Together (In Harlem)'. Fans of Gary Moore's lumberjack riffs will be delighted by the furious, melodious 'Spitfire'. For their part, fans of Tony Iommi's touch will appreciate the ominous arpeggios on 'Afterlife', a roller-coaster ride between calm, tense verses and a percussive, galvanizing chorus. 'Feeling Is Strong (Jo's Song)' calms things down with a Whitesnake ballad.
With this "Wheel Of Fortune", Grand Slam has risen to the challenge of a second opus containing, with one exception, only new compositions. Time will tell whether the weight of their heritage will not be too heavy to bear, even if the band, while respecting their origins and influences, are keen to be seen as a project rooted in the contemporary and looking to the future.