I am not going to lie to you people. When I read the blurb that got sent out with this band I let out an audible and physical shudder. Let me explain further. It said it was cut from the same mould as Shinedown and Black Stone Cherry, two bands who make my skin crawl. As I pressed play on ‘Chasing Hours’ the new album from UK rockers Fahran I cringed and waited to be hit by a wave of god awful christian rock. Thankfully that was not the case.
Opener ‘Long Gone’ starts with an almost early 90’s Bon Jovi intro (stop, don’t run away yet) before you are hit in the face by a monster of a riff that makes you sit up and take notice. It is a strong constant throughout this album. Despite their young years this band know how to write riffs. ‘A Thousand Nights’ is one hell of a classic rock stormer: it sounds huge and they are definitely blessed with a vocalist who can sing. On title track ‘Chasing Hours’ the band show they are more than a one trick pony as they deliver something altogether much more soulful that is drenched in emotion.
In my opinion Fahran are wise beyond their years and were definitely born a few decades too late. Don’t get me wrong, this is a killer album, it’s just at times it does have that cheesy 80’s Karate Kid 2 soundtrack feel. More than one track here would make a great backing to a montage scene. Like we’ve said, this is no bad thing, personallyweI have a deep love for this sort of thing. The Rocky IV soundtrack is still one of our favourite feel good records ever to this day. Although none of those albums have a track with a riff that even comes close to the one that features on ‘Cased In Steel’ on this album: being a highlight for us.
The production on ‘Chasing Hours’ is nothing sort of outstanding, it sounds absolutely massive, as an album like this needs and deserves. I have no doubt that giving the right chances and with luck on their side Fahran could find themselves a strong fan-base from this album, even more so if they sound half as good live as they do on record. They prove it is not just the Americans who can deliver this sort of polished rock sound and for that they should be commended. A very good album indeed and thankfully not Christian Rock, phew.
