VON GROOVE
"Born to Rock" (Frontiers New
Music; 2026)
Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton
Sometimes there's nothing better than re-visiting pure, classic heavy metal. It cleanses the soul, it electrifies your adrenalin, it makes you want to pump your fist in the air and bang your head.
And that's why I enjoyed Von Groove's "Born to Rock" so much. It's a flashback to the days when Quiet Riot, Def Leppard and Whitesnake were riding high on the charts. It's full of addictive riffs, anthemic choruses, and calls to party. I mean, how can you dislike an album whose first track is "Born to Rock."
And, yeah, I get it. "Born to Rock" is bursting with radio-friendly clichés, hard rock tropes and vaguely familiar melodies. So the fuck what? That's what it's supposed to be. A collection of eleven tracks that elevate you to that pop metal nirvana that you can't help but sucked into. And that's a good thing. If you don't have a good time listening to "Born to Rock," you should probably pick another genre to delve into. Polka, maybe. (Just kidding; even I know that went a little too far).
Of the eleven tracks here, my favorites are "Champion," which sounds like a tune originally written for Ronnie James Dio; "Dreams," which sounds like a Paul Stanley tune and the afore-mentioned title track, which puts you in the right frame of mind for the rest of the record.
Also notable here are "Angela" and "Heart of Forgiveness," which could have come from Def Leppard's new album.
There are a number of ballad-like tunes here, as well, including "Waiting for the Sky to Fall" and the very Stryper-ish "Always Endlessly," which aren't bad for your token radio ballads, but did they have to close out the album? Kinda takes you out on a slow note rather than raise-your-fist-and-yell. But that's a small complaint. Von Groove's "Born to Rock" is mostly a solid record, and does what it sets out to do: Remind you why you fell in love with hard rock and heavy metal in the first place.
For more information, check out https://www.facebook.com/vongrooveband/.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
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Copyright © 2026 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights reserved.
