It has been 25 years since these Swiss hard rockers formed, but although named to commemorate that anniversary, ‘Silver’ unwittingly denotes how their once gold-standard sound has become decidedly second rate since the tragic death of frontman Steve Lee in 2010. This is the band’s third album without him and it’s sad to say, with each release, his loss feels increasingly insurmountable.
It may seem pointless to keep harking on about Gotthard’s late leader, but Lee was a breathtaking vocalist whose searing, swaggering David Coverdale-esque voice packed an exhilarating emotional punch. Few could write and dispatch uplifting vocals hook quite like him. He was basically the difference between Gotthard being a very good act and a world class one.
Following the group’s decision to continue, Australian singer Nic Maeder faced the daunting task of filling his boots. On both ‘Firebirth’ and ‘Bang!’ he proved a good, albeit less charismatic and naturally talented, substitute. But those albums remain a mixed bag, boasting genuinely strong moments – Starlight, Feel What I Feel - amid a sea of average material. It was hoped the new Gotthard were merely finding their feet, but after five years - and on the evidence of ‘Silver’ – things just aren’t clicking.
Not to pick on Maeder, but this is his weakest performance to date. He may possess an eerily similar tone to his predecessor but he is stuck in the lower register. You just don’t feel the requisite emotion in his delivery and that dearth of dynamism and soul drains the songs of momentum and energy, preventing them reaching their full potential.
Electrified could be a classic, bottom-heavy Gotthard rocker but when it slows down for the bridge you expect a typically monster-sized chorus to pay off the lull. Instead the hook is restrained and husky when it should lift us up and get pulses racing. Likewise, Beautiful’s refrain is also strangely subdued.
In fairness, it doesn’t help that the songwriting isn’t strong enough. Why and Everything Inside are forgettable filler, while Silver River and Tequila Symphony No 5 – think Sister Moon crossed with Domino Effect – promise much but, like most tracks here, are let down by hooks that are bottom of the barrel weak. It’s like listening to post, as opposed to pre - millennium Bon Jovi, with these songs pleasant and instrumentally rich but lacking the genuine thrill factor and emotional fire of their finest work.
There are also too many slower numbers, even if they do offer some decent moments. Stay With Me and You Are The Reason, a dead ringer for Seal’s Kiss From A Rose, find Maeder giving it a little more oomph and are good, not great, ballads. The mellifluous simplicity of Not Fooling Anyone and slightly odd Miss You subtly charm. But when impressive hard rock duo My Oh My and the tap-dancing-on-hot-coals riff of Blame On Me close the record you can’t help wishing there were more songs in this vein.
It’s not that this is a bad album. For many bread and butter acts it would probably represent something of a career high. But this is Gotthard, a band who’ve made some of the most genuinely brilliant old school melodic rock records of the last few decades. With that in mind, ‘Silver’ just isn’t up to standard and elicits the feeling that the group is now a watered down version of the band they used to be. Diet Gotthard, if you will.
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