Introduction:

An introduction is something this band needs, but it's certainly nothing Tony Harnell needs. The other musicians, you may not know are Last Tribe guitarist Magnus Karlsson. Starbreaker is considerably different from TNT, just to let those of you know, anyone who may be expecting Intuition or My Religion. Don't get me wrong, this does have moments that will unmistakably remind you of TNT, Tony Harnell's vocals being the most obvious. TNT released what was arguably the best album of their career last year. TNT is scheduled to have a new album titled Eleven released sometime this year, but anyway, returning to Starbreaker, this is easily the heaviest album which has included Tony Harnell. It's a very solid album, it's not a carbon copy of any TNT album, but I love it. You can take it from me, I'm a huge TNT fan.

Song To Song Review:

1) Die For You opens and sets the tone for the album. It starts out with acoustic guitar and heavy distorted guitar. This lets you know immediately that this is not Intuition, rather it is something else that is just as good. The verse to this song is very in your face, with melodic choruses, very reminiscent of TNT. After the second chorus, the acoustic playing and heavy guitar as played in the intro is played before the solo, which I must note is done well by Magnus Karlsson.
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Score: 10/10

2) Lies starts out slow, and is one of the more TNT-ish tracks here. It also has kind of an Evanescence feel. Tony did say there would be a little influence of them in Starbreaker. A little of that thrown into the mix makes for a rather cool sound. The solo played starts out as the melody from the chorus, then Magnus does his thing on the guitar, then it goes back into the chorus.
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Score: 10/10

3) This song is so in your face it could Break My Bones, ok maybe not. But the intro is straight to the point. Starbreaker gives us another winner. Man, the musicianship behind this is just fuckin' unbelievably awesome! This is one of the more Last Tribe-ish tracks.
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Score: 10/10

4) Crushed is one of the more modern tracks. The verses have voice effects going on Tony, not the kind I talked about in the Fozzy review where they made Chris Jericho sound like Ozzy, but the kind they use a lot in today's music, I don't know how to describe it. The song is another hit for Starbreaker. This is just a side project, but I sort of wish these guys could get signed to a major American label, this could make some noise on today's radio. On the other hand, being the TNT fan that I am, I would be so bummed if they broke up.
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Score: 9/10

5) Days Of Confusion starts out with synth and piano, then a killer guitar lick is added to the mix starting out the first ballad of the album, which Tony Harnell can sing quite well. This will be added to Tony Harnell's excellent collection of ballads.
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Score: 9/10

6) Transparent is a mid-tempo rocker, nothing like TNT. Tony's killer vocals can make anything sound good, he even saved TNT's forgettable 1999 album Transistor from being an utter disaster, it was still pretty bad, but I wouldn't have called it an utter disaster. Anyway, Transparent keeps the flow going, keeping the album in momentum.
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Score: 9/10

7) Light At The End Of The World doesn't really do it for me. It's a ballad with some Evanescence influences with of course the vocals of the excellent Tony Harnell. What I wouldn't really call excellent is this song. It just doesn't grab me.
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Score: 5/10

8) Do you really thing a boring song like Light At The End Of The World is gonna kill Starbreaker's momentum? Well do you? If you do, shame on you! Cradle To The Grave sees Starbreaker maneuver around that song and keep the momentum going.
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Score: 9/10

9) Underneath A Falling Sky starts out with the synth and piano intros Starbreaker has an obvious love for, and kicks off a great tune for Starbreaker. This is a very melodic rocker, which shows Tony Harnell showcasing his awesome vocal range, adding life to the already awesome song. The chorus makes me think of TNT like you wouldn't believe.
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Score: 10/10

10) Turn It Off is a very misleading title for this song, because that is the last thing you'll want to do when you hear this. I wouldn't turn this off under gunpoint!
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Score: 10/10

11) Dragonfly is an instrumental that starts out with an insane drum fill, then the weird beat keeps going for a while, and continues when the dual guitars come in, the shredding continues for a while, the whole time it's drums and guitar. Magnus is a totally sick guitarist!
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Score: 9/10

12) Save Yourself finishes out the album nicely, in the Last Tribe musical fashion, and the traditional Tony Harnell vocal fashion. This is a fast rocker which really does a lot for me. Nice album guys, you kick ass!
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Score: 10/10

Overall Review:

Starbreaker, although the sound is noticably different from TNT, it's not an nu-metal album. Still, I can see a lot of TNT fans enjoying the shit out of this album, as I can Last Tribe fans. This album is basically all awesome songs with one mediocre number, but that's not enough to put a damper on the album.

Essential For Fans Of:

TNT
Last Tribe