Rust n’ Rage: Tales From the Wasteland (MelodicRock)

Rust n’ Rage is a relatively new band out of Finland that caught the attention of the MelodicRock Records label. The young melodic rockers already have one album under their belts (2013’s Showdown), and are back with a new album, titled Tales From the Wasteland.

I missed this band the first time around, but figured based on their (terrible, terrible) band name and country of origin Rust n’ Rage (seriously, who picked that?) would be polished Euro sleaze along the lines of Restless Love. That’s not too far from the overall sound on Tales From the Wasteland. These are cachy modern melodic rock songs with a nod to bands like Reckless Love and Crazy Lixx as well as an obvious appreciation for Def Leppard’s classic sound. All good signs, right?

Rust n’ Rage suffers in one major area: the vocals. Vince’s voice is just too thin, almost painfully so. It distracts from every song when it should be enhancing them. A singer with more power and range could take these slightly better than average melodic rock songs and elevate them. Instead the songs’ flaws are highlighted. It really is impossible to overlook this flaw.

With a better singer, this album might have earned a 3.5 star rating. With a great singer it could have hit 4 stars. Rust n’ Rage has neither, so 2 stars is the best I can do. They can’t all be winners. I do like that cover artwork though.