TNT – All The Way To The Sun

TNT’s last recording, My Religion, was a 100% killer release. No one would believe it would be possible for the band to top it, but with their brand new release, All The Way To The Sun, TNT has made a piece of Melodic Metal art that is notably close to the greatness of its predecessor.

Long time TNT bassist Morty Black is now replaced by Sid Ringsby. Diesel Dahl assumes the drum duties on a prolonged second term. These two outdo a rhythm section that has done a very decent studio job. However, it is the undisputed talents of singer Tony Harnell and guitar master Ronni Le Tekro that makes TNT a band that by now, if there were a bit more justice around, should have enjoyed world domination.

Tony Harnell is one of the genre’s most talented singers. He and TNT have been around for more that two decades, and one might wonder why the man hasn’t earned even more recognition that he already has. He is still on the very top of his game, and has outlived the peaks of the careers of singers such as Geoff Tate, Ian Gillan, and David Coverdale.

When it comes to Ronni Le Tekro … My Religion might hold a larger number of extraordinarily good tracks than All The Way To The Sun, but Tekrø’s general guitar work on this album is nothing but breathtaking — it is varied, clever, inventive, and very Tekro-ish. Listen to All The Way To The Sun — the way Ronni Le Tekro proves how capable he is to renew himself as an guitar player — it almost gets embarrassing to listen to the likes of Satriani, Slash, and Tony Iommi!

The CD is masterly produced by the songwriter duo themselves, Harnell and Tekro, who have come very far in guiding the tracks to their full potential. However, they have not managed to make every track stand out. For example, the title track suffers from lack of originality, although it was released as a single earlier this year … an odd choice. “Driving” is another track that adds little to the album, being a bit too AOR, and not very dynamic.

All right, enough about the downsides. Here are the highlights:
“A Fix” – the album’s heavy opener. Chasing drums, forward focused. State of the art work by Harnell and Tekro.
“Too Late” – catchy and with a great dramaturgy. The track gets lifted sky high by its great guitar solo!
“Me And I” – very strong melody line by Harnell’s vocals (including a great bridge). Includes yet another notable guitar solo.
“What A Wonderful World” – the album’s big surprise. Harnell has been a guest on a billion tribute albums, now a song by someone else has found its way to a TNT album. Quite different from old Satchmo’s well known version, but a very beautiful piece.
“The Letter” – the lyrics are a bit flat, but the vocal performance is stunning … and again; Ronni rules!
“Save Your Love” – another AOR-ish track, but this time a lot stronger one than the mentioned above. Sounds a lot like Bon Jovi … on a really nice day.
“Ready To Fly” – sounds a bit like Journey/Shadow Kings. Melodic, catchy, strong dramaturgy – it ends the album, and Harnell and Tekro couldn’t have left the listeners hungrier.

Buy it.

Tracklist

1. A Fix
2. Too Late
3. Driving
4. Me And I
5. Sometimes
6. All The Way To The Sun
7. What A Wonderful World
8. The Letter
9. Mastic Pines
10. Black Butterfly
11. Save Your Love
12. Ready To Fly