Michael Bormann
Different

July 2011
Released: 2010, Indie
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewer: JP

Even though you may not instantly recognize his name, you have probably heard Michael’s voice. A 20+ year veteran of the Hard Rock and Heavy Metal scene this German vocal giant has had an enviable career. Let’s name-drop to encapsulate. Letter X, Bonfire, Charade, Jaded Heart, Zeno, Rain and Bloodbound as well as filing in here and there over the years. Grammy nominee, studio owner/operator, singer for hire and on top of all that he has had time to churn out 4 solo albums in the past 10 years. Not bad!



DIFFERENT is his 4th solo album, another in an ever-growing catalogue of world-class Melodic Hard Rock albums. In case you have not heard any of Michael’s work, he could be best described as having the quintessential rock voice. He has range, power, and just enough grit to make his work have some edge. He can also be smooth when needed as evidenced in the ballad, ‘Think Twice’. The songs are very simple, easy to digest, nicearrangements, and very catchy.



His style is reminiscent of Jeff Scott Soto, Ronnie Atkins (when he is singing the slow stuff), Danny Vaughn and perhaps Mike Vescara. The commonality being that, all these guys possess a pure rock voice with versatility and personality. His solo work is considerably mellower than his other work, from camp-firetunes like ‘Somebody’ which could have fit on a Tyketto album to some big-hearted AOR stuff to a handful of grinding rockers, like ‘Breathless’.



Pure class, pure talent and unfortunately perhaps a limited demand, especially in North America for this style in general and this talented singer/songwriter specifically. Sure this is a bit mellower perhaps than the usual fare you might find on Metal-Rules, but I appreciate Michael Bormann’s commitment to classic rock singing and song-writing.