Last week brought you a review of Dawnbringer's latest (thanx Alex!). What some of you might not know is that Chris Black, omnipotent leader of the aforementioned, also has a more melodic side project called High Spirits which released a self-financed debut about a year ago.

Once again, as displayed in pretty much all the projects he involved himself into (that includes Pharaoh and Superchrist), Chris devotes his art to his fixated love for 80s heavy metal, this time around giving us what pretty much sounds like a tribute band to the great NWOBHM. What strikes me with Another Night is how incredibly catchy and entertaining it is. Truthfully, all the elements of what made bands such as Demon, Iron Maiden, Jaguar, Def Leppard (etc.) so damn fun to listen to are hereby transcribed by an efficient and focused team of one (Yes, ladies and gentleman, Chris amazingly did this all by himself!). You, thus, get the high-pitched melodic vocals, the solid - but luckily exempt of any double-bass drums - rhythm section, the solid riffing and dual-soloing…and great hooks raining everywhere! Okay, the voice and melodies (slightly on the AOR side of things) may be an acquired taste to young metalheads not yet acquainted with this particular style of rocking heavy metal, and the production (a tad amateurish) would have been better fitted for a very good demo than an actual full-length, those are but the only flaws of an otherwise impeccable little album, that’s not much to complain about.

In the end, a little sore in the neck from a good old-school headbanging session (not too long, 34 minutes, perfect for an old fart such as I), I really enjoyed the ride on which Chris Black took me. It surely is nothing new but so aptly crafted it’s almost impossible to resist it. If, as I, you think the NWOBHM brought us about the greatest heavy metal, High Spirits’ Another Night will make your day…and then a few more. Don’t miss it!