Nick Hogg from Nitrate once told me “Issa is world class” and that is undeniably true. She has a remarkably powerful and beautiful voice, But more than that she has the songs to back it up. It’s been fourteen years since Issa released her debut album Sign Of Angels and since then she has had a pretty gradual ascent to becoming, In my view, The Queen of melodic rock.
She has released a total of seven albums to date, Her first three of which released one year at a time for the first three years of her career, That’s not common these days and really has to speak to her passion for music and her work ethic.
Last year she released her previous full studio album Lights Of Japan, An album with everything Issa has become known for: Great songwriting, Beautiful melodies, and of course her incredible vocals soaring above it all. She is one of the top women in rock music of the modern era.
She also made a guest appearance on “One Kiss (To Save My Heart)” from the recent Nitrate album Feel The Heat, A band that features her husband and collaborator James Martin. That song was positively stunning and a personal favorite of mine from the album, It was honestly my favorite duet I’ve heard her sing yet.
Another World marks a new chapter for Issa, Frequent collaborators James and Tom Martin (ex-Vega, current Nitrate) are coming off of the release of Nitrate’s Feel The Heat and you can definitely see musical parallels between that album and this one, Which comes as high praise from me.
The albums first single “Armed And Dangerous” starts off with Issa’s voice slowly emerging into the forefront before kicking off the riffs in this epic mid tempo rocker, The keys in this song are ethereal but play a background role allowing Issa’s voice to really lead the song. This was a great choice for a single and a fantastic start to the album.
Next up is “All These Wild Nights” which starts out with some bright keyboard playing that wouldn’t have been out of place on the first album from Amy Grant, With the drumming and the guitars it enters more of Richard Marx territory. The chorus gives a powerful lift and a bit more punch to what otherwise sounds very late 80s and early 90s pop rock, I mean that reference in a positive light as this is a great song with a wicked guitar solo!
The first time I heard “Only In The Dark” my jaw about hit the floor, For me this is maybe the best ballad she’s ever recorded and if it doesn’t end up a single it will be a tragedy.
Again, Very 80s pop keyboards kick off the song with a subtle saxophone melody playing, the melodies here are delicate and Issa’s voice is intoxicating on this song, The tempo picks up in the second verse after the chorus with guitars and even more keys, The mastery of melody progression here is breathtaking. The acoustic solo is a beautiful touch as the keys play and subtle electric guitar rhythms, Not a note is out of place on this track and it’s just pure emotion on display, Truly a masterpiece.
“Never Sleep Alone” picks things back up like a punch in the face after that last song with the hardest riffs displayed yet, The guitar and drums just charge through the song while Issa’s voice slices through it all. A great rocker.
“The Road To Victory” starts off with some bright keys and doesn’t sound far off from something Journey would’ve written, But then the song shows the signature of its writers, If someone said this was written during the sessions for Feel The Heat I wouldn’t be surprised at all. The keys, Bass, and drums drive the verses on this song before the pick up in the chorus, Issa showing more restraint in the verses and then showing more power in the chorus. There’s a great guitar solo here and a great fade out with the keyboards at the end of the song. I absolutely love the melody and pacing of this track.
An excellent drum beat kicks off the title track with a great 80’s style rocker, great riffs and subtle vocals dominate the verses before going mid range in the chorus. Not that I’m saying she sounds like him but something about the vocal range Issa displays on this track and some of the musical elements of this song kind of reminds me of Dokken.
“Kick Of Fire” is another track I think could easily have been on the recent Nitrate album, It has that excellent balance of keys and guitars that really drove that album. The musical complexities of this song are absolutely mesmerizing to analyze between the shimmering keyboard melodies, the rich bass line, the great riffs, thundering drums, and of course Issa’s excellent vocals. This is huge sounding song, the song slows the tempo a bit after the second chorus and then leads into a fantastic guitar solo. This energetic track is one you’ll want to crank up loud!
“Got A Hold On Me” slows the pace down a bit through the start of the track allowing the rhythm section to drive things with keyboard flourishes before the chorus picks things up, The second verse section picks up the tempo compared to the first section with some muted guitars added. This is one of the tracks you really want to hear the bass on. Issa’s vocals wail while the guitar solo takes off and both send things over the top in a great way. I get a slight KRISTINE meets the brighter side of The Birthday Massacre vibe out of this song.
“A Second Life” reminds me a bit of something Creye would’ve done on their second album, This is very much modern melodic rock with no old school influences. The melodies that dominate this song really give Issa even more of a platform to let her vocal abilities shine and she really makes the most of it and drives the emotion home. This is a very powerful keyboard dominating song.
“The Hardest Fight” starts out with some bright keys and harder riffs before slowing things a bit during the verses, but gradually the tempo picks up before hitting that major lift in the chorus. A great mid tempo rocker.
“Lost And Lonely” caps off a great album with another excellent mid tempo rocker that has great work by the rhythm section driving the song, fantastic guitar work, and soaring keys. I especially love the clean guitar parts in the song and the section that leads out the end of the song.
This is a stunning display of musical skill and vocal prowess, Everything works here and not a note of any of these songs is wasted. It’s got melody for days and Issa fourteen years into her career is as impressive as ever.
As great as Lights Of Japan is, I think Another World is really another level, For me this is her best album and further proof of why Issa is one of the best and brightest in melodic rock.
10/10