(Melodic Hard Rock / AOR) Daylight Robbery - Cross Your Heart - 2011, MP3 (tracks), 320 kbps

I discovered Daylight Robbery by reading Classic Rock Presents AOR, which made me to contact Tony Nicholls (vocals) to inquire about their upcoming album. The story of Daylight Robbery are slight different as the band played together during the early 90s acted as support for several established bands. The band eventually broke up without having released an album. Since then, Tony Nicholl has continued to work in the music industry over the years including playing in various different configurations.The contact with guitarist Mark Carleton has never ceased and when the two decided to record some new material together, it became Daylight Robbery material.
So how does the band sound? Well it’s melodic rock meets classic rock where the last third of the album has metal influences. The band comes from Birmingham, a city who has left its mark in rock history by great bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Magnum. Daylight Robbery hold high the banner and the tradition of pompous rock, perhaps most close to Magnum of the above mentioned.
I’ve heard parts of the album in slight different forms (mixed and unmixed) as my contact with Tony Nicholl began a few months ago. The mix should now be finished, and six out of ten songs sound good but when I listen into my headphones, it feels as if the band has had problems with the last songs mix. Even after I got back a remixed song, I think the snare drum penetrates the mix.
Out of the ten songs it’s just one song that does not fit the album. 1000 Points Of Light reminds of the Blaze Bayley Iron Maiden version, not a negative thing in itself, but it feels so completely different from the rest of the album.
We get a high standard from the very beginning with Cross Your Heart and Shame On You which shows a steady level of songwriting that puts melodies and choruses first. On the other hand, only one song that sticks out properly and that’s the grandiose Crossing The Great Divide, which is the only slower song on the album. The song, just over eight minutes long making room for the song envolve in an interesting manner. I’d carefully say that this is Daylight Robbery’s Stairway To Heaven, without for that matter make any major comparisons other than tempo structure of the song. Moreover, it is the piano that starts and finishes the song.
http://daylight-robbery.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/DAYLIGHT-ROBBERY/136352346380288
http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/song_details/10491915#!/daylightrobbery
http://www.youtube.com/user/DAYLIGHTROBBERY2011?feature=mhee

Label: Solar Flare Records (Daylight Robbery’s own label). Producer: Engineered by James Howell Mixed by Andy Brook and Mastered by Jon Dewsbury
Release date: November 14th 2011 as download (and shortly afterwards as physical release)
The UK rock scene becomes a little more interesting this week, with the release of this, the debut album from Birmingham’s Daylight Robbery. It’s been a long time in the making, as the band were together in the 90’s but never actually recorded anything. This album throws together some of those songs and some brand new compositions, with the result being uneven at times but always interesting.
Now I don’t know what the balance is between old and new songs, but the first six tracks on the album are very solid melodic rock tunes, held together by a good blend of guitar, keyboards and some powerful vocals by Tony Nicholls. “Cross Your Heart” opens the album with purpose, and is a treat for fans of Shy, Magnum and Terra Nova, with a good, simple backing riff overlaid with keyboards and a nifty solo. Nicholls has a nice, strong voice that can reach some high points when needed, and the whole impression is of a band who know exactly what they’re doing. This carries on for the first six songs, which include an ambitious slower track “Crossing The Great Divide” which rolls in at 8 minutes and works pretty well. Track 6, “Real Love Is The Answer”, is a really cool melodic track with a catchy chorus that uses a similar structure to Madonna’s “Respect Yourself”, and one I keep coming back to.
The last four tracks seem more dated, possibly because they lack some of the subtlety of the rest of the album. They are faster and heavier, and tome sound more like a band still looking for an identity. As I said, I don’t know if these are earlier compositions, but the tone of the album definitely changes in the final third. It’s still pretty good melodic rock, but with less of the spit and polish of the first 6 tracks. Overall, however, this is a very good debut that’s been along time coming, and it gives Daylight Robbery a very solid platform to build on.
http://daylight-robbery.co.uk/

Tony Nicholl - Vocals / Guitar
Mark Carleton - Guitar / Backing Vox
Colin Murdoch - Bass / Backing Vox
Duncan Cook - Keyboards
Ben Dixon - Drums