Whitesnake
Forevermore

April 2011
Released: 2011, Frontiers Records
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Waspman

After a long hiatus, David Coverdale and the venerable Whitesnake returned in 2008 with a revamped line up (Reb Beach and Doug Aldrich on guitar? Awesome!) and a rocking new album called GOOD TO BE BAD. While it didn’t exactly open new musical doors for the band, it was a vital, surprisingly hefty album that showed that the ‘ol ‘Snake still had some quality songs left. As usual, hefty European touring followed so it’s only now that the band have regrouped and gotten it together for a new album, FOREVERMORE.



Opener “Steal Your Heart Away” basically picks up where GOOD TO BE BAD left off – it’s a stomping, heavy mid-paced song with some deliciously tasty riffs and typically a charismatic vocal from Coverdale. From there the album basically moves along the same path as its predecessor with heavy but melodic rock songs, highlighted with catchy choruses and fiery guitar solos. Unfortunately there’s only one faster-paced song, “Dogs in the Street”, but thankfully it’s a good one. The band also mixes things up with a very poppy song, “I Need You (Shine a Light)”, and a couple of mellow songs (the campfire ballad “Fare Thee Well”, and the more traditional ballad title track). The rest is your typically rocking Whitesnake, of the type they’ve been dishing for the last 25 years.



When all is said and done, you know exactly what you’re going to get with a Whitesnake album, and the band just doesn’t disappoint. Beach and Aldrich are a dream guitar team, and Coverdale sounds almost as good now as he did back in the ‘70s. Sure, there are a couple of songs that slip towards “filler” category, but all in all, FOREVERMORE is yet another welcome addition to the Whitesnake canon, and an easy choice for hard rock fans.