Burn: Ice Age (MelodicRock)

Long-running UK melodic hard rockers Burn returned this year after a decade-long absence with a new album, titled Ice Age. It’s the band’s fifth studio album, and finds returning members Marc Stackhouse, Barney Stackhouse and Phil Hammond joined by new vocalist Steve Newman (of Newman) and guitarists Chris Green (Tyketto, Furyon) and Julian Nichols.

Whenever you take a long time between albums, the pressure is on to really deliver something that’s worth the wait, and Burn definitely comes out swinging with Ice Age. It’s a hard rocking album with some serious crunch and modern rock energy to go along with its melodic side and deft keyboard touches. Hearing a very familiar voice in a somewhat different setting also helps. Steve Newman has the kind of steady, powerful voice that suits this kind of rock really well, adding another melodic layer to things.

Ice Age is a rock-solid bluesy hard rocker in the vein of Sainted Sinners, Dead Daisies, Voodoo Circle and Resurrection Kings. After the intro, there are a full dozen rocking songs, with “Irontown,” “Never Write a Love Song” and “Payback” being the best of the bunch.

With Ice Age, Burn succeeds in both satisfying fans of their previous albums as well as making a strong first impression for newcomers. If you like your melodic rock to pack a punch, this is an album you’ll want to hear. Likewise if you’ve ever wanted to hear Steve Newman in a more hard rock setting than his Newman albums.