It’s funny to look back and think of all the bands that missed their fifteen minutes (or longer) of huge fame simply because of bad timing. Hardline is one such band. Known as a barely promoted band that featured Journey’s Neal Schon (who was also coming off of a successful run with Bad English) that made an incredibly good hard rock album in 1992, Hardline’s place in rock history, unfortunately, doesn’t go much deeper than that. As a matter of fact, the band reunited early in the new millennium (without Schon who had since returned to Journey) to release II, which got little attention but thoroughly impressed die hard fans who had long awaited their return. Years later, the band answers the call of Frontiers Records and reunites again to offer Leaving the End Open.
Opening with the post-David Lee Roth Van Halen sounding “Pieces of Puzzles,” the band immediately grab your attention with the kind of hook that made their debut revered by fans of the genre. I honestly, having not heard II, was shocked at how complete everything sounds. Neal Schon is not missed. The radio-friendly “Before This” and “Voices” are high points as well. The band gets a little dirtier sound on the verses of “Give In To This Love,” adding more depth to an already dynamic album. The highlight here is the lighters-to-the-sky ballad “In This Moment,” a prefect power ballad led by a piano and backed by some gorgeous strings. This album just rocks in all the right ways and at all the right times. Listening to Leaving the End Open reminds me how massive the void in popular music today is.
Simply put, albums like this are why Hard Rock will never die. If you like big hooks, stellar production, and music that is dynamic enough to know when to rock and when to be beautiful then this is a must-have album for you. Hardline so better today than they did in their “prime” and longtime fans will unquestionably consider Leaving the End Open the band’s finest effort. It’s easily one of my Top 5 picks for 2009 so far.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
