Band:	Blowback (FRA)
Album:	All And Even More
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	July 2008
A review by:	Jeff

01. Perfect
02. Post War Times
03. Introspective Feelings
04. All And Even More
05. Inferno
06. About
07. Hellflames
08. Primal
09. Vain Hopes
10. Under The Fire
11. If One Let Oneself Die

Blowback seems to be really instable. They suffered of a lot line-up changes in the past and only one guy (the leader of course) remains in the combo after the release of the first album "All And Even More"? Despite those problems it's time to review this release, a new album with a female singer, which is clearly not symphonic or anything but more Heavy Metal in the spirit. Even if we have some good ideas, the album clearly lacks of identities and that's a problem?

But at first, I have to say that "All And Even More" features some good songs. Well this is not perfect and mega original but at least the music is Heavy and not some kind of Symphonic Power (which is always linked to female singers). The music is dark and the riffs can be aggressive, the solo are complex too and the keyboards give deepness to the music. The ambiances are not bad too but still, something is missing in the compositions. The songs are not simple, the structures are even complex but the whole album lacks of hits and catchiness. A song like Inferno for example is saved because of the good chorus with male vocals but only some few songs work like this one?

The production is ok, not perfect and a bit weak sometime but ok. This kind of artwork has been seen a lot of other time but this is not especially bad, at the opposite. Also I have a problem with the voice of Valène De Santis. I don't know, I just can enter in her universe. Her voice is a bit too cliché, she doesn't give any emotions to me and above all she is just too common, a bit like if she was the lambda singer of the cover band which played last week in your village? She could be better though but still has to improve her voice to find a real personal voice.

What will happen to Blowback now that the band is a one man solo? Maybe the best but obviously it shouldn't be easy for Richard Coloma to follow the road that he has started with the other band members now that he is alone? Numerous splits and line-up changes are never good but well who know, maybe that it will be easier for him to create his own music now. I wish all the best to the guy for the future and hope that he will find the way to surprise us a bit more. "All And Even More" is not horrible but clearly doesn't give anything new to me and I clearly need original Metal nowadays?