VELVET THUNDER

Coming from a small Finnish town called Pori, Rust N’ Rage are four musicians – Vince, Johnny, Jezzie, and Eddy – who share a common passion for your classic ‘Scandi’ rock n’ roll. Original members Johnny (Guitar) and Jezzie (Drums) formed the group in 2009, although Vince (Vocals) and Eddy (Bass) got on board the following year. Their debut album Showdown was released in early 2013 through local labels Ektro Records and Karkia Mistika Records, receiving mostly good reviews around the world. The band played gigs around Finland and did a mini-tour abroad in 2014, including Sweden, Latvia and Estonia. In 2015 the band embarked on “Nothing to Lose” tour with gigs around Finland and Latvia, concluding with eight gigs around UK. Initially playing individually around their town, it didn’t take long for them to unite under a shared musical vision. Drawing inspiration from ’80s legends such as Guns n’ Roses, Judas Priest, Mötley Crüe, and Dokken, the band has crafted a sound rooted in classic hard rock but with a fresh and personal twist.

The recording process was delayed several times and so the second album Tales from the Wasteland was only released in 2018. Compared to the debut album, the band had become considerably more professional both in song-writing and live performances. The album was distributed by Australian label Melodic Rock Records, but in the end it didn’t give the band the lift they were hoping for, despite good reviews. More hard work finally resulted in a new manager and new producer, and a worldwide record deal with Frontiers Music at the end of 2020. Their third album One For The Road was released in March 2022, receiving a much anticipated reception with great reviews around the world. Faith in making music and rock n’ roll was finally rewarded.

With energetic live shows and anthemic song-writing, this rock n’ roll quartet is ready to take the next step toward musical fame – the release of their brand new album Songs Of Yesterday, out on August 22nd via Frontiers Music Srl. Produced by Olli Anttila, the album is the band’s defining statement so far – a high-energy dose of rock packed with powerful anthems, memorable choruses, infectious guitar solos, and explosive rhythms. It’s a celebration of their influences, but also a testament to their identity and evolution as a modern hard rock force, especially live!

The album opens with One For All (All For One), see the video below. It’s a breathlessly pacey number in the Bon Jovi / “euro-rock” vein, a whopper of an anthemic crowd-pleaser. Very melodic, massive chorus, great fun and you’re going to hear this one on countless rock media outlets over the rest of the summer… A very impressive start, if I may say so! Hot on its heels is the album’s title track Songs Of Yesterday, a more melodic number – hugely tuneful, a complete earworm of a track thats going to be a real crowd favourite. Honestly, these guys can write huge stadium-surfers in their sleep, they might not be pushing too many musical boundaries but they are extremely good at what they do.

Just Like Brothers feels like a huge juicy slab of Judas Priest, albeit re-shaped in more of a “euro” mould. A bit bombastic, with a nice bit of shredding in the middle and an appropriately “rabble-rousing” chorus! Hey Jane continues ploughing the same sort of furrow – hugely melodic, good-time radio-friendly stuff. Gone But Not Forgotten is a softer, more AOR number, very West Coast, very Bon Jovi, and very nicely done indeed – Vince is a real find as a vocalist, he can swagger, croon, holler and howl with the best! And the semi-acoustic guitar work here is top-notch, all in all this is one to get yer lighter out to.

Rollin’ Til The Morning is exactly what it says on the tin, a classic goodtime on-the-road rock raver. You’ll have heard the beat and the chords before but there’s no denying these guys have a happy knack for delivering the goods. Rockin’ all summer long probably sums them up? Open Fire sounds like a single in the making, again hugely accessible for the wider Rock Church, nothing fancy but relentlessly hitting the spot, all of these numbers lend themselves so easily to singing along whilst pressing the pedal to the metal…..if anyone gets to do that any more!

I Am The One highlights this mix of good-time soft and hard rock, massively melodic without ever sounding too corny – the listener doesn’t stop to think about musical boundaries when you’re bouncing along with each and every ear-worm. Gave It All I Got supplies more huge anthemic vibes, and some seriously tasty fretwork to boot. The show comes to and end with Fire It Up, which does exactly what it says on the tin, a suitably pacey, energetic conclusion to the show – and it does feel like you’ve just listened to a live album, it has that sort of spontaneous vibe to the mix – these guys are simply having great fun…

This album never lets up, delivering a non-stop stream of feel-good “happy days” classic rock…okay, you might feel like you’ve heard most of these songs before by “the original artists” (or not-very-different tracks anyway), but for a solid slab of tuneful, timeless AOR it would be hard to top this one. Sit back (or stand and strut) and simply enjoy!

Finnish rockers Rust N’ Rage are back with the brand new album “Songs Of Yesterday”, set for release on August 22nd via Frontiers Music Srl.