The debut album by hard rock/heavy metal “supergroup” A New Revenge, Enemies and Lovers, is set for release tomorrow (29/3/19).  The band consists of Rudy Sarzo on bass, Keri Kelli on guitar, James Kottak on drums and the always amazing Tim “Ripper” Owens on vocals. 

The Distance Between sets us off in fine fashion.  It’s a hard rock/ metal hybrid that is a perfect opener.  Ripper Owens sounds fantastic on his Halford-esque high notes, which I’m sure will be a recurring theme throughout the record, but also on his more traditional vocals.  The Way is a fairly straightforward rock song, while Never Let You Go is a rock radio hit in the making. 

I love that Ripper is doing far more singing on Enemies and Lovers, rather than trying to replicate the Priest sound (see Spirits of Fire from earlier this year – still a damn fine album, I have to add!).  Glorious is not terrible, but it seems like the band have gone out of their way to try and write an anthem.  The Eyes is a perfect coming together of that traditional metal sound and a more modern hard rock flavour, and a definite highlight.  

Fallen is another track that could find a home at rock radio.  It’s anthemic, and features a great guitar solo from Kelli.  Only the Pretty Ones is like a metal show tune, clearly inspired by Alice Cooper, and another, yet unexpected, highlight for mine.  

The title track further demonstrates that Ripper has a great voice for rock, and with this, I’m hoping that A New Revenge is not just a one off project, but something that will hang in there for a few albums at least.  Here’s to Us and Scars close out the album with the latter being the far more memorable track.  

Enemies and Lovers is a decent album, which does a lot to prove that Ripper is not just a one trick pony.  There is some good guitar work, but I would have liked to have heard Keri Kelli unleash his talents way more, and the rhythm section does their job perfectly throughout, laying down a solid foundation for each song.  

I really like this album, and I’m sure die hard fans will too, but sadly, I expect Enemies and Lovers to get lost in the shuffle and be mostly forgotten by the masses, as many of these “supergroup” records are. 

6.5/10