If ever there was an album that was released at the wrong time in history, it is At Vance’s Facing Your Enemy. After the fist couple of songs you’ll be checking the calendar to make sure you haven’t travelled back in time to 1987. Today, we call this Melodic Heavy Metal/Hard Rock. In 1987, it would have been called Hair Metal. It is very much in the same vein as its predecessor, 2009’s Ride the Sky. Songs like "Tokyo" bring to mind Joe Lynn Turner-era Rainbow, with its guitar/keyboard sensibilities, whereas "Eyes of a Stranger" (not a Queensryche cover) and the title track have Fifth Angel’s Metal-Lite mid-paced tempos and melodies running through them. Many of the songs have a smoky, almost bluesy, vibe and when you combine that with Rick Altzi’s gritty and soulful voice, the similarity with Whitesnake is undeniable.
The album opens with an obligatory fast Power Metal anthem ("Heaven is Calling") but the rest of Facing Your Enemy is all MTV-and-arena-ready major-chord riffs, sing-a-long choruses and flashy solos. It is well done and the production gives the album a slick, glossy sound, but there’s nothing you haven’t heard before. I can’t say I like this much for anything other than a trip down memory lane. If, however, you’ve got a desire to relive the time when Hair Metal ruled, or maybe you’ve quit smoking and you need something to do with that snappy lighter, Facing Your Enemy might do the trick.
