Crank those decibels, baby!
Many a hard rock icon seemed destined to underground cult status due to the changing musical tides of the early 90s, with the likes of Slaughter and Blue Murder being among the more prominent examples of bands that were a little late to the party and swimming against the wave crashing out of the Pacific Northwest.
Early 90s AOR upstarts Hardline seemed another entry into this club of bands that had all the right moves but hit the field in the wrong decade, featuring the talents of famed Journey guitarist Neal Schon and Bad English bassist Todd Jensen alongside the project’s masterminds vocalist Johnny Gioeli and brother/guitarist Joey Gioeli, not to mention a signature formula and melodic splendor that would have conquered the mainstream were it to have come to light a few years earlier. But perseverance can conquer even the most overwhelming of adversaries, and following a brilliant run with Frontiers Records, this elder hard rock staple has unleashed their heaviest entry yet under the SPV/Steamhammer banner in Shout!
Much of Hardline’s present vitality owes to the keyboard chops and production expertise of Alessandro Del Vecchio, who has refocused their signature 80s AOR sound into something more modern and in harmony with the power and pizzazz common to most of Frontiers’ ever-expanding roster. One can’t help but note that while Johnny Gioeli’s raspy roar remains a dead-ringer for his work with Axel Rudi Pell, yet the music surrounding him has taken on a character that is far less tied to the aforementioned project’s retro production tendencies, despite still being steeped in 80s stylings.
The tight display put on by the rhythm section, consisting of drummer Marco Di Salvia (an occasional fellow traveler of Del Vecchio’s) and bassist Anna Portalupi, plays an equally vital part in shaping this album into a towering golem of sound. But the variable that puts this entry in a distinct and more metallic place compared to their prior outings with Frontiers Records is the guitar work of Blaze and Doro axe-slinger Luca Princiotta, laying down riffs that are at least as heavy as anything in Pell’s extensive catalog.
Though definitely a sizable step into new sonic territory for the Hardline brand, Shout! is an album that plays to the same compact, concise formula that has been the rule since the 1992 debut, Double Eclipse, emphasizing infectious hooks with a straightforward approach. Obligatory up-tempo bangers like “Rise Up” and “I’m Leaning On It’ tap into that 80s magic something fierce and find Gioeli’s sleazy snarl in comfortable territory, with Princiotta’s flashy riff work tilting things dangerously close to mid-80s Ozzy Osbourne territory.
Likewise, though the opening title entry “Shout!” commences with the usual cinematic largess that Del Vecchio likes to adorn his productions with, the heavy punch of the guitars that drives things along carries an uncanny Jake E. Lee-like character rather than the more rhythmically static approach typical of a Magnus Karlsson or Aldo Lonobile in a format like this. Even when things get heavy enough to rival Judas Priest, like on the pummeling foray “Welcome To The Thunder”, the synchronicity established between Luca’s busy guitars and the dense atmospheric backdrop caters perfectly to Gioeli’s signature wails.
Naturally, this isn’t an album based solely on impact-based aggression, but it’s uncanny how even the more stylistically mixed offerings of this opus find themselves back in that same sonic place at key points. The more anthem-based rocking approach of “It Owns You” and “Candy Love” splits the difference equally between keyboard-steeped AOR and 80s Sunset Strip-inspired sleaze rock, functioning as de facto throwbacks to the early days of the Hardline name, but are also tailored in such a way as to fit perfectly into the heavier aesthetic of the rest of this album.
The more melancholic and piano-driven semi-balladry of “Mother Love” tugs at the heartstrings a fair bit both lyrically and melodically speaking, yet once that explosive chorus lands Princiotta’s metallic edge has its say. A similar story is told in a more nuanced and almost progressive way on the down-tempo epic reinterpretation of Scorpions‘ song “When You Came Into My Life,” and the serene acoustic entry turned shuffling hard rock monster “Rise Above No Fear”. The only all-out exception to the rule of raging rock with a soaring voice on top is the closing ballad “Glow”, which offers an extremely poignant message of love and loss with Gioeli opting for a more intimate setting of a lone piano line accompanying his powerful pipes.
While Shout! also presents a sound that is a far cry from the vintage 80s AOR sound that typified Double Eclipse, it definitely draws more so from the mystique of that era than anything else they’ve put out since, and provides a more aggressive and uncompromising metallic edge that is sure to prove far more palpable to younger heavy and power metal enthusiasts. Anything worth playing is worth playing loud, and while this album does not live by decibels alone, it packs far more than one might expect from the average AOR band.
Release Date: April 17th, 2026
Record Label: SPV/Steamhammer
Genre: Melodic Hard Rock
Musicians:
- Johnny Gioeli / Vocals
- Alessandro Del Vecchio / Keyboards
- Luca Princiotta / Guitars
- Anna Portalupi / Bass
- Marco Di Salvia / Drums
Shout! Tracklist:
- Shout
- Rise Up
- It Owns You
- When You Came Into My Life (Scorpions cover)
- Mother Love
- Rise Above No Fear
- Candy Love
- I’m Leaning On It
- Welcome To The Thunder
- Glow
Order the album here.
Shout! finds Hardline hitting with renewed force, fusing their trademark melodic sheen with a tougher metallic crunch that gives every hook extra weight. Packed with arena-sized choruses, razor-edged riffing and Johnny Gioeli’s still-commanding roar, it’s a late-career statement that lands loud, proud and without compromise
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Songwriting
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Musicianship
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Originality
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