GOODBYE THRILL – Goodbye Thrill

Goodbye Thrill is the debut album from the like-named band, which hails from Maryland, USA. Although this is the first album from the foursome, members of the group have a fair amount of experience in the Hard Rock scene, having played with various other bands throughout the years. Goodbye Thrill is 11 tracks long, and was co-produced by lead singer and rhythm guitarist Marc Ferreria. The rest of the band is: Dean Cramer, lead guitar; Dutch, bass; and Pete Eiselman, drums.

Goodbye Thrill is heavily influenced by the vintage Hard Rock of the 1980s, when you couldn’t go more than 10 minutes between hearing songs from the likes of bands Def Leppard, Journey, and Bon Jovi (among others) on the radio. Goodbye Thrill plays a similar, up-tempo style of Hard Rock that those acts specialized in, with lots of heavy guitar riffs, slick solos, soaring vocals, and upbeat, catchy choruses and melodies that make you want to sing along. Save for one track (obligatory ballad “Leap of Faith”), all the songs on Goodbye Thrill are upbeat, peppy, and tuneful, with just enough grit to keep them from getting too shiny and polished, although there’s still a fair bit of slickness to satisfy fans of radio-friendly material like this.

If we were still in the greatest decade of all time (the ’80s), Goodbye Thrill would be a mainstay on the radio and the music video channels; this album hits all the right nostalgic marks as it makes its way from the first track to last. At the same time, though, the album doesn’t come across as dated: it might be influenced by the music of a previous generation, but it still sounds new and fairly relevant. Goodbye Thrill won’t score any originality points with this disc, but if all you want is some catchy, unpretentious Hard Rock, then you’ll like this.

Nearly all the songs on Goodbye Thrill seem crafted for maximum radio-friendliness, and in the right climate there would be a solid radio single or three from this album, as there are no real bad songs on it. Tracks like “Super Perfect World,” “Ticket To Paradise,” “Give You Away,” “Let Me Sleep,” “It’s Got To Be Me” and “Hungry!” are the best of the bunch, with lots of Hard Rock goodness to be found within: big riffs and solos, bigger vocals, and even bigger harmonies. The only thing that isn’t “big” on this disc is the hair. The lone ballad, “Leap Of Faith,” is decent too, with some heartfelt singing from Ferreria. Even if you’re not a fan of slower songs, the hooks on this one are big enough to land a whale.

Goodbye Thrill have come up with a solid effort with this eponymous disc, and fans of Melodic Hard Rock will definitely like it.