JACK STARR Out of the Darkness LP BLACK (SEALED)

High Roller Records, reissue 2023, black vinyl, ltd 200, insert, poster, bonus track, Transfer, audio restoration and mastering by Patrick W. Engel in September 2021, Jack Starr was a founding member and original guitarist of US metal legends Virgin Steele from New York. After their second album »Guardians Of The Flame« was recorded in 1984, Starr and Virgin Steele parted ways. As a direct result, his first of many solo albums (under the name of Jack Starr as well as Burning Starr) »Out Of The Darkness« was released before the year had come to an end. As the rhythm section for his first solo effort the guitarist extraordinaire got drummer Carl Canedy and bassist Garry Bordonaro (both from fellow New Yorkers The Rods) on board, he recalls: “I did know them because we had done some shows together during my time in Virgin Steele.” The singer on the record was no other than Rhett Forrester, who had just departed from Riot. “Rhett was a great singer and in a just world should have been as big as David Lee Roth or bigger,” Starr praises the well remembered front man. “Rhett was a kind and considerate man who liked me a lot, and that was amazing because he didn’t like many people. So I was very grateful to have him as a friend, and also he had a great voice and could sing blues and rock and gospel. He reminded me of Elvis Presley.” Finally, there also was Gary Driscoll on drums (with a guest performance on the song “Let’s Go Crazy Again”). Gary had been in Elf and Rainbow, a true rock legend …”It was a dream come true,” comments Jack Starr, “Gary Driscoll who I admired was playing on my album. It was crazy.” Stylistically »Out Of The Darkness« ranges from straight ahead metal (“Concrete Warrior”, “Chains Of Love”), epic stuff like “False Messiah”, a ballad (“Can’t Let You Walk Away”) to party metal anthems (“Wild In The Streets”), with some strong instrumentals thrown in for good measure (“Scorcher”, “Odile”). Without the shadow of a doubt, the album still holds up in 2022. “Thank you, I think that good songwriting never gets old,” laughs the guitarist. “The recording was done in a very good studio and a lot of money was spent on it because I believed in giving the fans the best possible product, and so I spent every penny of the advance on recording. Carl Canedy mixed the album and really all I can say is that Carl is the man with the golden ears. »Out Of The Darkness« was released everywhere back then and I am still finding out about different pressings almost 40 years later. It is the album that refuses to die!”