Starbreaker is one of those bands you can label as "supergroup" since the band consists of renowned musicians such as Tony Harnell (TNT), Magnus Karlsson (Last Tribe), Fabrizio Grossi (Steve Vai) and John Macaluso (ARK, TNT, Yngwie J. Malmsteen). So what is the result of these guys joining forces? Well, catchy melodic metal that excels at both mellow and heavier songwriting. On top of all, the musicianship of Starbreaker is of really high quality, as one may assume.

The quality of material on this album is rather good, but there are few mediocre songs included as well. For example, the instrumental track "Dragonfly" isn't as good as I expected. Nonetheless, the overall impression of the material on this album manages to convince that this album is definitely a recommended buy to listeners of melodic metal.

The production of Starbreaker was handled by Fabrizio Grossi, who also mixed the album. The mastering, on the other hand, was performed at Capitol Mastering (Hollywood, CA) by Kevin Bartley. The sounds are apt and assertive and the mix is rather balanced... this record hasn't been squeshed with excessive mastering either, and therefore the production just strengthens the impression of this album. Slight background distortion on the guitar track could be heard few times, but other than that this is really well-produced album.

As an added bonus, this album contains a video of the second track "Lies" as well as an interview with the band. Starbreaker's self-titled debut album is definitely an album worth checking out in case you listen to melodic rock and metal.

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- MAGE (May 13th, 2005)

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LINE-UP:
Harnell, Tony: Vocals Karlsson, Magnus: Guitars and Keyboards Grossi, Fabrizio: Bass, Loops and Samples Macaluso, John: Drums
Producer:	Grossi, Fabrizio
Mixing by:	Grossi, Fabrizio
Mastering by:	Bartley, Kevin

	TRACKLIST:
	01. Die for You 02. Lies 03. Break My Bones 04. Crushed 05. Days of Confusion 06. Transparent 07. Light at the End of the World 08. Cradle to the Grave 09. Underneath a Falling Sky 10. Turn It Off 11. Dragonfly (Instrumental) 12. Save Yourself 13. Lies [Video] 14. Interview Length: 59:08 + the videos