Although there are more revolving door moments in the history of ever-evolving rock conglomerate Dead Daisies than sliding ones, the band continue to deliver populist, undemanding hard rock that sits somewhere near the top of hard rock’s second division to seemingly undiminishing acclaim from their band of die-hard and very appreciative fans.

New album Light ‘Em Up won’t see much change in that situation as the band, led as ever by high-flying financial wizard-cum-rhythm guitarist David Lowy and now once again featuring fan favourite throat John Corabi, romp through ten unleaded slabs of high octane rock n’roll. I’m Gonna Ride is the best rocker of the bunch, an AC/DC-informed rocker that rolls in aboard the throbbing pulse of Michael Devin‘s up-front bass and stays for days in the brain after just a couple of listens, whilst the track that follows it,  Back To Zero, is a stadium-sized grunge-meets-Zeppelin wailer that features some nice guitar work from Doug Aldritch and a characteristically elastic workout behind the kit from Tommy Clufetos.

Way Back Home heads back to the eighties in a good way, but the leaden I Wanna Be Your Bitch isn’t so successful; Corabi sings both as if his life depended on it and it’s easy to see why the band’s fans love him so much. Never less than one hundred per cent, twenty four-seven commitment is always a given from this man, and even on the cover of Aussie legends The Angels’ classic calling card, Take A Long Line, he delivers with a verve and enthusiasm that make the words coming out of his mouth his and only his… Single handedly he turns Rick Brewster‘s tale of seedy King’s Cross activities into something Aerosmith might have been responsible in their pomp with a vocal that combines class and sleaze in equal measure; Corabi’s predecessor Glenn Hughes wouldn’t have handled it so well, leading one to the conclusion that Corabi really is – vocally at least – the heart and soul of Dead Daisies overall…

Best proof of this is perhaps most evident on the album’s Tour de Force, the quite superb Love That’ll Never Be, a superb slice of seventies-soaked radio rock replete with organs straight out of the Uriah Heap playbook and an Allman vibe that’s pure sunshine and good memories. Corabi sings the living daylights out of this, and it’s a track you’ll find yourself returning to again and again over the coming months.

So in summary as an outsider to the band I’d say Light ‘Em Up is no better or worse than the last couple of DD releases, but the addition of Corabi is certainly going to make a lot of people happy and certainly pays dividends on the tracks we’ve highlighted. I’ll let you decide where it stands in the band’s canon while I have another listen to Love That’ll Never Be…

Light ‘Em Up releases on September 6th.