Outloud!

Outloud | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 15, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Phantom Domestic
• ASIN: B002DQKL80
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,546 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2009 release from the melodic Hard Rockers. Outloud was formed in 2008 featuring Firewind members Bob Katsionis (keyboards, guitar) and Mark Cross (drums). However, the band's history dates back to 2004 in Athens, Greece when young Tony Kash started taking guitar lessons from Katsionis. Tony soon appeared to be a kid born to rock and was constantly coming up with some great riffs that led Bob to record those to demos, which turned out to be really good material with catchy tunes. A strong melodic voice was soon needed! Bob remembered someone he once met in New York during one of Firewind's US tours who seemed to be the right guy: Chandler Mogel, formerly of Talon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Catch 22, October 28, 2009

By 

Paul Lawrence "'EJL'" (Australia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Outloud! (Audio CD)

Outloud are comprised of Chandler Mogel (vox), Bob Katsionis (Lead G + keys), Tony Kash (Rhythm G), Jason Mercury (B) and Mark Cross (D). The album is largely a labour of love by Bob Katsionis who produced and engineered the thing as well as writing it with Tony Kash, though the mixing and mastering was by Tommy `record a week' Hansen in that crystal clear and lush way so beloved of Euro product of the 00's.

And certainly the record is well suited to such a treatment. Paradoxically, if this was released 20 years ago it would have been a couple of decades before it's time in many respects. As it is, being released in 2009 it is in plenty of other ways 20 years behind the times. The melodies here are just gorgeous. The arrangements quite proudly use plenty of great guitar solos and killer gang chorus effects and it's a great disc for driving down the highway to. Weirdly enough it's the uniform quality of the CD that detracts from it slightly as there are few peaks and valleys to break up the record for the listener (gee - I'm hard to please huh?). But if pressed I'd have to point the prospective buyer to the very fine numbers What I Need and We Run as being very good examples of the sort of stuff you are gonna get here. And they'll show you how this band play both loudly and proudly with the aim of - whisper it - entertaining you. The songs are attacked with verve and spirit and I defy anybody to listen to this without cracking a smile, I mean this is a band that have credited the model on the cover! Oh if only I was 15 years younger....

Derivative for sure but so is just about everything else and for it's sheer youthful exuberance I have no option but to award a healthy four stars.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great new high-energy melodic rock project, March 4, 2010

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Outloud! (Audio CD)

It seems like there's a trend recently of metal guys working on melodic rock side projects. Nightwish guitarist Emppu Vuorinen's Brother Firetribe is a good example, as is Outloud, which was put together by Firewind's Bob Katsionis (keyboards, guitar) and Mark Cross (drums). For this new project, Katsionis brought in newcomers Tony Kash (guitar) and Jason Mercury (bass) along with Talon vocalist Chandler Mogel.

Outloud is an 80's style melodic rock act, drawing heavily from bands like Bon Jovi, Dokken and to some extent Journey. It's all wicked guitar hooks and catchy melodies plus soaring, dramatic vocals and plenty of 80's bombast. Mogel's voice is pretty effective for this kind of music, but there are times (like "Search for Truth" and "Out Loud") where he just sounds off somehow. The guitar work more than makes up for it though.

The album is a bit uneven, and has some filler. Album opener "What I Need" is a particularly weak song. The album would have been much better served with the insanely catchy "We Run" kicking things off. That song sounds like a lost Tyketto single, and is the album's high point. The video clip for "We Run" on this disc is a great addition as well. "Tonight" is another terrific song that would have made a great single in 1988.

If you're a melodic rock fan, you really have to check this album out. If you're into bands like The Poodles, Brother Firetribe, Hardcore Superstar and Gotthard, you're more than likely going to love Outloud. I don't think they're quite at those bands' level, but they definitely have the potential to be.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FIREWIND + TALON =!!OUTLOUD!!, September 19, 2009

By 

Nikiforos V. Skoumas (Athens Greece, Cambridge UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Outloud! (Audio CD)

OUTLOUD is a brand new Greek-American melodic metal band with strong 80s influences. Clearly this collaboration is probably the biggest surprise in the genre of melodic Hard Rock-Metal for 2009 as it brings together some of the greatest musicians from the US and Greece; FIREWIND's Bob Katsionis (keys-guitars) and Mark Cross (drums) join forces with the voice of TALON Chandler Mogel. The line up is completed by Greek newcomers Tony Kash (guitars) and Jason Mercury (bass).
The result is top notch melodic hard rock/metal with strong references to 80s.

Clearly the release does not feature the flamboyant guitar work and aggressive rhythm section of FIREWIND yet it is nothing but full of the catchiest choruses and infectious melodies one can find in a release of this kind. Tracks like "Tonight", "We run" and "Breathing Fire" are prime examples of good time rock and party metal.

As both FIREWIND and TALON are personal favorites it was pure excitement to find an album that brings to front such collaboration. This album is an absolute must for any fan of FIREWIND or TALON since the musicians live up to their reputation, capable of producing relevant output outside of the comfort zone of their original bands.

"Rockhard" Greek magazine (issue 45) marks this album with 8/10 commenting: "This is easily one of the best albums of 2009 for the genre of melodic metal"

"Metal Hammer" Greek magazine (issue 297) also marks this album with 8/10 commenting: "The perfect soundtrack for your saturday night out!"