Holy Ground

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A project with variable geometry, a modular collective... we do not know what terms to use to describe the Dead Daisies, a group set up from scratch by David Lowy, a successful businessman and heir to a wealthy Australian family. In less than ten years of existence, the band has counted 21 different musicians among its members, from more or less regular members, and others who helped out on tour at some point. All of which raises a lot of questions about the man's handling of the case and his possible influence in the process of obtaining dates. Because, having just launched, the Dead Daisies have already opened for ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Kiss and Def Leppard! Counting the excellent Richard Fortus (six-string player with Guns N' Roses) and John Corabi (a former luxury part-timer behind the microphone with Mötley Crüe) within its ranks, the combo recruited Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake) on guitar in 2016, and then the legendary Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals in 2019. Hughes, whose first album was recorded with his new playmates, was also the first member of the venture to hold two positions at once.

Can the Dead Daisies surprise us? It's not clear. Have they done so already? Nope. But this is not where the interest of such a project lies. All we ask of a rock band of this ilk is to send riffs, big stadium choruses, and to possess an impeccable line-up paired with a good dose of groove. But this little game has always worked very well for all the formations that have tried it out in the studio. And this new pressing brings a side that is both more vintage and somehow fresher. A change that's largely due to the singer-bassist (who, by the way, turned the former quintet into a quartet for the first time), who, at 69, has never seemed so fit. Fans of his latest solo albums as well as those made with Joe Bonamassa's Black Country Communion will not disagree.

Holy Ground is a pure hard rock record, as successful as its predecessors (because one should not neglect the excellent work provided by John Corabi on the other albums), that enjoys added soul vibrations brought by Glenn Hughes' vocals. Just listen to Bustle and Flow and be carried away by a huge groove and hear accents borrowed from Led Zeppelin. But Hughes's voice would be nothing without the excellent work of Doug Aldrich on guitar and Deen Castronovo on drums, real heavy gunners and suppliers of riffs worthy of the best 80s bands, creating a big sound (Chosen and Justified, the huge My Fate). The Dead Daisies now have only one original memberm, Lowy, the master who got the whole adventure started. But his mastery of the science of rock'n'roll has remained intact and continues to give rise to devilishly fun songs of formidable power. Why deprive yourself of such a pleasure? © Chief Brody / Qobuz