Glam Metal

Comprised of 80% talent and 20% attitude, Finland’s Santa Cruz keep the Glam Metal flame alive with their superbly catchy music and intense stage presence. With the greats of the genre getting older and older and (finally) retiring from the scene, it is ups to bands like Steel Panther and Santa Cruz to keep this part of musical history alive and the Finns are doing a great job in keeping up with their part. In their self-titled sophomore release, the band takes their sound one step further with richer music that further develops their sound.

Opening with the hyper catchy “Bonafide Heroes”, we get a certain Bon Jovi vibe from the singer/guitarist Archie. Of course there are killer guitar solos and excellent show-off parts in this song, but the kicker is that nothing sound extremely retro or copied, but rather the band has made it their own and further expanded it with current musical trends and styles. As the insane guitar leads keep appearing on tracks like “Velvet Rope” and “My Remedy”, the band quickly establishes a high-octane mood with their superb music. Johnny and Archie do a killer job in delivering amazing guitar sections in this release.