Shylock
Walking Tall

It’s just Rock ‘n’ Roll – don’t bore us, get to the chorus! - that is how the press info for this album starts and often this is true but a good chorus becomes nothing without good verses and all of that. German Shylock should be perfecting their craft at this by now considering that this album which is called Walking Tall is their sixth album since the debut in 1999. They have managed some stuff during this time and must be decently known in Germany at least considering that they performed their song Farewell to send off german football star Thomas Häßler in front of 20’000 people in Cologne, something that was also broadcasted in Germany so I suppose they must be known as Häßler was a great player when he was active. Anyway, those things don’t really say anything about the album which has a basic and boring cover which would seem to point towards a rather simplistic rock album.

And sure enough, it is a fairly straightforward affair on thirteen tracks that take you fifty minutes to play through. It is rock ‘n’ roll with catchy choruses and melodic catchy song structures, a catchy album in most regards with the tempo mostly quite high. The singer himself sounds like a fairly classic german rock singer (think Klaus Meine and you know what I mean) with a powerful voice that complements this music in a really good way. The thirteen tracks are somewhat varied within the musical frame the band sets from the first tone. I would describe it as a really well produced album but how are the songs?

Well, they are really good and the best are excellent, like the opening title track which sets a great tone for the rest of the album. The second track Rock DNA is a clichéd affair which is just brilliant despite all the silliness it entails. And so it goes on with one good track after another and like two hits wasn’t enough there’s the track called Take It Too Far which is the best on the album and just brilliant. This makes this album a great album complete with great highlights and an overall strong package and one to return to time and again because it is despite the easily accessible songs an album you can listen to over and over without getting bored with it.

An album without any real shortcomings and one well worth taking a closer look at no matter which your musical preference is in general, it is just great catchy music, plain and simple. So, if you are into the melodic rock stuff you cannot miss this album because it is quite brilliant. I would describe it as an excellent showcase of real Rock DNA and that is something not many albums can offer.

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