Tesla – Shock
http://umentertainment.com

Rating: A

Five long years since their most recent album, Tesla returns with "Shock", a long awaited album by the fans and that brings a further element to the already consecrated recipe of the band’s characteristic sound: the presence of the guitarist Phil Collen as producer. I can say that the result of the blend of traditional Tesla’s songs, combined with all the valuable lessons Collen learned from working with the legendary Robert John "Mutt" Lange in Def Leppard, resulted in a varied and very interesting album, to say the very least.

At the very beginning we have "You Will Not Take Me Alive", a rocker with an immersive style that already shows those backing vocals so traditional on most Def Leppard albums (and that are present throughout Tesla’s), but "Taste Like" sounds like the band from Sheffield, from beginning to end, especially in the chorus. In a different musical direction, "We Can Rule The World" comes out as a cool ballad with a strong chorus, while "Shock" frightens with its electronic drums, but it sounds like a mere detail wrapped in precisely distributed guitars and vocals leading to an aggressive chorus.

And if "Love Is A Fire" is a spectacular mid-pacer, with an engaging chorus that sticks with you for hours, "California Summer Song" is exactly the summer song the title suggests, with a simple (yet a lighter sound than we are used to in Tesla's works). And speaking in softness, the sultry "Forever Loving You" has an acoustic foundation that pleases with its simplicity and surrounding arrangement, while "The Mission" is a growing rocker with explosive chorus and that, once again, sends me back to Def Leppard, circa the early 2000s.

In the final stretch, we have the incendiary "Tied To The Tracks" (in the best tradition rocker of the Tesla), followed by the great "Afterlife" (with very nice arrangement), while the sweeping "I Want Everything" closes the album with a very pleasant melody.

So, to sum it up, my friends, there is no denying the evident and recurring influence of Def Leppard in "Shock", since the characteristic model of backing vocals that the band from Sheffield uses is present throughout the album. But it should be noted that the voices are not so upfront in the mix, which brings a more balanced outcome. There is also no denying that Jeff Keith has invariably and recurrently used the vocal flourishes we have identified in Joe Elliott. Still, Tesla is not to be confused with Def Leppard at any point in time. All of the elements reflected here don’t affect Tesla's musical identity in any way, shape or form. In fact, I hear a very interesting mix of the sound of two bands that cherish quality, and so the result could only be above average. In this case, it was very positive and I confess that "Shock" exceeded my expectations, being not only among the works in Tesla’s discography, but also being among the best works that 2019 has shown us so far. A beautiful album...

Tracklist
01 You Won't Take Me Alive
02 Taste Like
03 We Can Rule The World
04 Shock
05 Love Is A Fire
06 California Summer Song
07 Forever Loving You
08 The Mission
09 Tied To The Tracks
10 Afterlife
11 I Want Everything
12 Comfort Zone

By Juliano Mallon