Frontiers Records continue their obsession with a Dann Huff-less Giant, something which for most fans just isn’t going to fly, no matter how you dress it up. It ain’t and never will be Giant guys.

Lineup changes are part of life, but there are specific circumstances when removing one member is akin to removing the soul of the band. And under those circumstances, its time for a new name, like when Giuffria minus David Glen Eisley morphed into House Of Lords for example.

Dann Huff is Giant. He’s not just one member being removed – he’s the vocalist, the main songwriter and guitarist.

Frontiers tried this once before with the Terry Brock/John Roth combo joining the original rhythm section. It wasn’t Giant either but at least was a solid American sounding melodic rock album I personally file alongside my Terry Brock solo CDs.

So now we have John Roth and Giant’s bass/drum combo returning with the great Kent Hilli (Perfect Plan) on vocals. Inspired choice you would think and yes, Kent sings his heart out, but he only replicates the Huff sound on a few tracks. Given his band’s amazing cover of the Giant classic ‘Stay’, I figured he would be closer to Dann’s vocal throughout.

But he doesn’t. And this to me sounds less Giant than ‘Promise Land’ album did. This time with Alessandro Del Vecchio on production and co-writing and a range of Frontiers’ other European writing regulars involved, it sounds more like a typical Frontiers Euro-melodic rock project.

That said, the guys have only picked some high quality of songs available to them and there are a few highlights here that I happily say are among the best Euro-rock songs of recent times. More specifically, the rockers Don’t Say A Word and Never Die Young and the big ballad Anna Lee.

I don’t think the production is as tight as I expected. The guitar sound is quite hollow, and the drums lack major impact, two assets of Giant’s two main studio albums that were impeccable and remarkable.

Well performed and well written and a solid Euro-AOR album overall, that I will buy, but I’ll file alongside my Perfect Plan CDs, as for the most part, that’s what the sound most closely mimics.

This is just the kind of record the rock world needs right now. Fresh, original, engaging, head-spinning and pushing the definitions of the genre.

Of course, it’s not Ghost pushing the boundaries of melodic hard rock, but rather Ghost pushing their own style boundaries, which on this occasion, happen to fit into the realm of the melodic rock world.

On the surface, this looks like another gothic, alt-metal, fringe dwelling record from one of Sweden’s more menacing outfits. At its heart though, it is in fact a stadium rock album with a huge dose of 80s anthemic thinking, mixed with a modern moody and at times gothic vibe, with some prog-metal influences.

It is a masterpiece, no question about it. The originality of Ghost’s past sound mixing with a more commercial template is an absolute winner for fans craving something that actually sounds different – that stands out from the pack.

There’s a touch of everything here – 9 tracks and 3 short instrumental passages of anthems, moods and grooves – nothing repeating itself and like all great works of art, just a little nuts at times.

It’s one of the most played records of the year for me already and easily the standout record for originality, captivating lyrics, dark themes and rich harmonies and a production quality to rival the biggest sounding records of the 80s and 90s.

Only gripes - the fadeout for Watcher In The Sky runs over a minute when half that would have been plenty and a 23 second segue is a little pointless. But how about that hook in the bridge to Hunter's Moon? Wow.

Part Def Leppard, part Motley Crue, part Sisters Of Mercy, part Threshold and part Jim Steinman, this is how rock n roll needs to grow and build an audience in 2022.

If Spillways isn’t my song of the year, it will take a monster track to displace it.

Amazing!