CARELESS

"CARELESS has much more in common with the new wave of British heavy metal bands from the 1980s than it does with what is going on in today's music scene," reads the statement from the band's web site and it couldn't be more accurate. It sure as heck isn't that guitarist Walt Kosar and drummer/vocalist James Collins are a couple of youngsters that got hooked on their older brothers' record collections and went all-in with the retro trend. The pair met in college in the early '80s, wrote some of the material heard on "Coalition", were joined by bassist Nolan Ayres not long afterward, and wrote a few more tracks. And that was it; the band broke up and the three got on with their respective lives. In 2008 the trio reconnected and decided to resurrect CARELESS. More material was written to complete "Coalition", which is now available digitally to any fan of well written melodic hard rock and heavy metal with a direct line to the 1980s.

"Coalition" will not go down as a lost classic of the era, but is nevertheless a no-frills collection of catchy tunes that stick to the basics of fat riffs, solid solos, and melodic centrality. The recording leaves a bit to be desired, suffering as it does from a boxy guitar sound, but that does little to detract from solid songwriting that works, no matter the era. From a straight ahead rocker like "Out of Control" to the meaty riffs and big hooks of "Contend in Vein" and "Boundaries" to the emotional might of "Blackened Walls of Freedom" and "The Gods Themselves" (with intriguing historical war references),the trio's approach to music-making is refreshing in its back-to-basics approach. A few cool instrumental interludes, an unforgettable and very MAIDEN-esque (Di'Anno era) guitar/bass lick (and tuneful refrain) on "D.F.M." and a rather dynamic eight-minute cut called "Song 9" are worthy of note as well. Finally, Collins' vocals are very much in the Tim Aymar (PHARAOH) vein and the songs benefit because of it.

What comes across in a big way on "Coalition" is the obvious enjoyment the threesome got out of making music with two primary purposes: artistic expression and fun. Call it "dated" or dub it "old school" if you must, but "Coalition" taps into an era of rock and metal to which many — especially those that came of age in the 80s - will happily relate. Then again, whoever said big-riffed, conventional songwriting with hooks had an expiration date? Check it out.