Don Airey- "Pushed To The Edge"

Being prolific is one thing, outsourcing some ideas that would shine in your main band's excellent last albums is another and yet keyboard wizard Don Airey, a keyboard maestro in rock music,  finds time between gigs and DEEP PURPLE'S recordings to present us with a smoking Hard rock album. Along with him for the ride his now also DP companion Simon Wright at guitars,veteran vocalist and valuable gun for hireKarl Sentance and Mitchell Emms (The Voice UK) drummer Jon Finnigan, and bassist Dave Marks help to make his musical dream come true.  

 What you should expect, maybe nu metal massive riffs, MUSE arena rock prog, Metalcore in the vein of ARCHITECTS, retro rock in the vein of TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT, sleaze rock ike THE TREATMENT,low tuned,SABBATH style metal with vulgar power like ORANGE GOBLIN,neenah,nothing of that, just the essence of Aireys musical journey. A great 70s inspired Hard rock album where DEEP PURPLE, URIAH HEEP, Gary Moore, Ozzy along with a bit of JUDAS PRIEST combined as influences to create a brilliant,enjoyable album. You would expect the keyboards to have the main role, dominate the album but  Airey is a songwriter and knows that there is no better way to serve a good song ,a good idea, than to let it build among strong vocals and great guitars, while not forgetting the keyboard wizardry where is needed.  The album has its instrumental moments. "Girl from Highland Park" with its 60s/Crooning references the majestic "Finnigan’s Awake", hard rock brilliance and in your face attack in "Tell Me" with its 'Burn' speed and feeling, " Rock the Melody" with its RAINBOW hints,  "Keep on Running" with its Spanish intro and the late DP style, the ELP prog,pomp monster of  "Godz of War" and a number of tracks that a lot of modern hard rock bands would die to have in their portfolio like the slow burner ballad "Flame in the water" a reminiscent of the great 80s ballads,  and the straight in your face, muscle rockers "Moon Rising", "Out of Focus" with some 'crazy" organ playing and  the Ozzy flavored  "Edge Of Reality" . A prolific writer who let his hair down in this album covering what he likes most, hard rock, heavy metal you name it with a twist. 

Pushed to the Edge’ is the non DP album that Ian Gillan would die to sing at and definitely a winner.

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