THE LADDER – Sacred

It’s been three years since the debut album Future Miracles hit the streets, and now it’s time for The Ladders second A.O.R. release. The band consists of Steve Overland, Pete Jupp, Bob Skeat (all three of them played together in FM), Gerhard Pichler, a new member.

While the previous album had many unreleased FM songs, their new album Sacred is filled with new material. This album has a more modern style than most Melodic Rock/A.O.R. bands nowadays. There are some computer sounds added and some of the songs have a heavier and perhaps a little darker approach, but it’s still an extremely Melodic record. The material itself is nothing but mediocre. There are some good moments here, but overall this is an album that doesn’t vary much from the A.O.R. band beaten path. “Run To You,” “Here I Am,” and “Mean Streets” are all examples of this approach.

The guitar solos aren’t even worth mentioning. It sounds like Pichler made them up while he was recording them in the studio. They sound uninspired and they come off so bad at times that you feel sorry for him. The best effort is on “Body & Soul,” but also on this one he seems to be struggling to find something cool to play. Worst is “All Of My Life” where he plays the same melody line three times and again with another guitar playing the harmony notes. When he is done, you get the feeling that he’s about to play something cool, but he’s doesn’t, and there’s no more solo.

Overland’s voice is, however, a breath of fresh air. It’s smooth and well fit for A.O.R. He proves this on ballads like “Something To Believe In” and up-tempo rockers like the opening track “Body & Soul.” The record mostly relies on Overland to carry the songs. His voice is the element that keeps this record above total failure.

This album lacks a great guitar sound and great guitar solos. It wouldn’t hurt if the bass was a little bit more active too. It sounds like the whole band is waiting for something to develop, but what that is remains unclear. Their next release? It’s pretty obvious that Overland is the drive behind this band, because he really tries, but as much as he’d like this to be a great release, this is a record that soon will be forgotten.

Line-up:
• Steve Overland – Vocals
• Pete Jupp – Drums
• Bob Skeat – Bass
• Gerhard Pichler – Guitars

Sacred has 11 tracks with total running time: 53:33