Persian Risk, Who Am I

Moving on from the damned good ‘Once a King ‘ album (which came out in 2013), the guys of Persian Risk have recently released their latest offering for us to feast upon ‘Who Am I ‘.

Now a lot of folks are going to say ” Yerr man, but it sounds like Iron Maiden!” Well I’m sorry, I say not! They might well have a similar rock style, unsurprising considering they all started around the same time. But the way both Carl and the guys deliver the goods is very much done in their own way. Somewhat unlike the very Heavy metal sound that I.M. produce!

Carl’s singing style has been assimilated more times than I can remember, but seems a little more along the melodic metal lines these days, with a voice having a much cleaner, purer resonance to it, and on this new album we get to hear a very differing sound to what’s gone before!

The vast majority of the tracks are new, but I also like the way the guys slip in the odd classic Persian Risk song, “Calling for You” from 1981 and one many fans still think was one of the best new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) tracks on the scene at the time, and “Dark Tower” taken from the ”Rise Up” album of 1986. Both re-mixed, tweaked and brought right up to date. It’s still nice to see them paying tribute to their past hits from one of the U.K’s bedrock metal bands, and also showcasing these songs to a new younger audience.

Persian Risk’s impressive line up includes vocalist Carl Sentance, who can boast playing with Don Airey, Krokus, Geezer Butler and more. While bassist, Wayne Banks has performed with Joe Lynne Turner, Blaze Bayley and Robin Gibb. Guitarist Jason Banks past history includes, Messiahs Kiss and Blaze Bayley. This classic band have been playing festivals and concerts across the UK and Germany throughout 2014, and since reforming a few years ago are now set to light up venues once more in 2015.

Well, after all my comments typically the first track is called “Don’t Look Back” ironic!! But also an iconic Persian Risk sounding song. The twin-guitar laden, quick timed intro beat breaks the ice with a sledgehammer, and off we go on this metal roller coaster ride taking you from heavy metal to retro rock and beyond to the more mysterious and intriguing melodic AOR side of Persian Risk!  But for now we let Carl open with the first track, which to be honest is pretty bloody good! “Your riding through the back streets of a city paved with sin “, the first line of Don’t Look Back. I played this song once, then went back for a second time, now I can’t stop playing it! and the more times I do this, the more I can hear a different pitch, tweak and little tricky twist the guys have layed down. Kind of like reading a book then going over again and finding all the sub-text hidden in the margins. Title song ‘Who Am I‘, this is where the roller coaster starts. It’s hot, then cools down, then hits you hard again with the high octane high pitched voice Carl found from god knows where! Again this song is just full of little bite size pieces you might miss first time round, and is well worth a few more plays to get everything in your head.

‘In My Life‘ in one word……..”Stunning”!  Enough said!!

On the final track of this, I must say ‘awesome’ album, it concludes with a very different side to Persian Risk.  ‘I Thought It Was You‘, this could have been David Bowie singing!! Carl’s ability to morph and adapt his voice to each different song is quite impressive. This song actually reminded me a bit of Blonde’s ‘Rapture ‘, a quirky mix for sure! It’s a really well put together piece of work from the guys which on it’s own could put this album in the charts, a great track for main stream radio stations. They might even get curious and play the whole album, if they only had the kahoonies to stop playing pulp pop! Well here’s to catching the guys playing live as soon as possible. Real bands need real fans, get on it people!!

Album list:-

Don’t Look Back

Who Am I

My Creation

In My Life

The Writing On The Wall

I Feel Free

Dark Tower

Facing Your Demons

Calling For You

I Thought It Was You

Foot note…
The new album features guest appearances from keyboard wizard Don Airey ( Whitesnake, Deep Purple) Phil Campbell ( Motorhead ) Danny Willson & Tim Brown ( Martin Turners Wishbone Ash).

www.carlsentance.com

www.persianrisk.co.uk