George Lynch is 61 now. His vintage is somewhat surprising: although his guitar playing has been in the vanguard of hard rock, his bands – Dokken and Lynch Mob – have had a habit of being just that year off the pace commercially, always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
It hardly matters now, and maybe that’s why this umpteenth incarnation of Lynch Mob sounds so focused and sharp.
Lynch and his long-term singer Oni Logan have tuned out the distractions of influence and cut a rock-hard, riff-heavy record, from the Mr. Big swagger of Between The Truth And A Lie and tremendous hook of Sanctuary through to Jelly Roll’s post-Zeppelin sonic blues.
There’s a welcome change of pace in the album’s standout track Hollow Queen too.
