FRENZY FIRE

    

METAL & ROCK REVIEWS

    
             
HOME            
REVIEWS            
ARTISTS            
UPCOMING            
LINKS            
             

 

     
   
   
       
       

Garden Of Earthly Delights

    
       
       
       
     
             
Casandra's Crossing are a hard rock band from the USA formed by guitarist George Lynch and singer Casandra Carson - the new alliance releasing its debut album 'Garden Of Earthly Delights' in 2024.    
             
Regarded as one of the most influential guitarists to emerge out of the evolutionary eighties metal and rock scene, Lynch is known for his time with Dokken and Lynch Mob (the band he formed after leaving Dokken), a successful solo career and a wealth of collaborations - KXM with Doug Pinnick (King's X), Sweet & Lynch with Michael Sweet (Stryper), and The End Machine with Jeff Pilson (Foreigner), Mick Brown (ex Dokken) and Girish Pradhan (Girish And The Chronicles) to name just a few!    
             
Carson is recognised as an up and coming rock singing sensation, already established as the frontwoman for American rockers Paralandra - and with singles, albums and tours (headlining as well as supporting slots for bands such as Warrant, Firehouse and Lita Ford) under their belts, Paralandra are very much on the up too, the bands most recent album 'The Body Electric' was released earlier this year!    
             
So now we know who the players are, let's dive into the musical wonder that is 'Garden Of Earthly Delights' - an eleven song, fifty two minute hard rock swagger that opens with the up tempo and energetic 'Stranger', Carson's mighty rock roar so powerful it's easy to understand why she's being touted as the next big singing sensation. In my opinion though, The Gems (and former Thundermother frontwoman) Guernica Mancini, is one of the finest rock singers around at the moment, but boy Guernica you've got some serious competition in the shape of Carson. And I realise this is only my first time hearing Carson, but how long do you have to hear someone before you just know there's something special about them! Exactly! And with a more melodic hard rock approach, 'Impatient' maintains the high energy, high impact impression 'Garden Of Earthly Delights' has made, Casandra's Crossing aiming high, and scoring a perfect ten!    
             
And for an old rocker like me that remembers the eighties when "stadium rock" was surging full tilt around the world, this new collaboration here is one hundred percent deserving to be classed as "stadium rock", 'Closer To Heaven' rumbling along like a distant thunderstorm - you can sense the power and sheer beauty of nature coming closer! And when it does, it knocks you right off your feet, Casandra's Crossing not only knocking me off my feet, but into next fucking week too! The opening treble has been nothing short of excellent, this diehard metalhead - like so many more - are also diehard rockers too, our allegiances divided between the two greatest genres of music ever, heavy metal and hard rock. And bringing more oomph to the album, 'Ring Me Around' is a bombastic, rough and tough barrage of up tempo rock to send every listener wild with excitement, smiles a mile wide appearing on the faces of everyone everywhere! And the intensity here is top notch too, keeping everybody glued to the hard rock pouring outta 'Garden Of Earthly Delights', the album moving swiftly on with 'Devastating Times', the levels of everything turned up to maximum! There's definitely something here for every rock fan to get their teeth into, Casandra's Crossing standing tall and very proud right in the heart of rock territory.    
             
And for me to say this album has been amazing, would probably be the biggest understatement of the year, the past decade even, 'Garden Of Earthly Delights' continuing a meteoric rise into the reckoning for Album Of The Year - the vocals of Carson turning sensual for 'Waltzing Nites', the term perfection seemingly quite apt right now to describe the singers incredible voice! And the guitar work of Lynch is phenomenal too, Southern rock and a touch of the blues making an appearance courtesy of 'Just Business', the band maintaining their joyful journey around every corner of the hard rock genre to deliver variation in abundance. Rock fans all over the world are gonna lap this album up, and at over fifty minutes and eleven songs long, there's plenty to lap up believe me - 'Mind Eraser' entering the fray with enough bombastic oomph to blow a great big fucking hole right through the centre of planet Earth! Casandra's Crossing have been punching hard ever since 'Garden Of Earthly Delights' began, every single song heard so far hitting the sweet spot with devastating accuracy. I really wanna know where this garden is, for the delights it bears are more irresistible than the fruit in the Garden Of Eden!    
             
And as the album enters its final third, there's absolutely no sign of the band running out of energy - if anything, they're getting even more energetic as 'Run For Your Life' increases the tempo and pace to become the fastest song on the album! And when I say fastest, I don't mean a gallop, more of a trot come canter, for Casandra's Crossing are, after all, a rock band and not a metal one! Southern rock swagger makes an emphatic return as 'Wicked Woman' stomps hard with a tonne of drive and the grittiest vocal performance the album has on offer - Carson more than living up to the acclaim heaped upon her. And I know it's a rarity these days, but here's a rock album coming to a close without a single ballad in sight - 'Garden Of Earthly Delights' closing with 'Kneel Before You', featuring just as much gusto as every other song on offer. The impact Casandra's Crossing have made with the bands debut release is nothing short of sensational, and is deserving of a place in every rock fan's collection.    
             
Overall, fifty plus minutes of heavy hitting hard rock with a massive melodious edge, exquisite guitar work and stunning vocals.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
Top