Reviewed by Mark Sherwood

There seems to be a resurgence of classic metal these days with bands like Stryper, Bloodgood and others reforming. Cliffy, formerly of The Huntingtons, has now created a new band. However, instead of wearing his Ramones influences on his sleeves, this time it's the hard rock of AC/DC. Some may even accuse Mainline Riders of being a clone of the aforementioned band, but that misses the point. Mainline Riders play gutsy hard rock riffs yet craft memorable tunes that will have you singing along and of course playing air guitar. Mainline Riders also manage to keep the interest going because they throw in an acoustic-driven ballad after the barrage of riff-driven tunes and later on throw in a bit of the blues on the aptly titled "Rhythm 'n' Blues". I particularly like "Hell Ain't A Good Place To Be" which counters a certain AC/DC song. Cliffy has had a major shift in his songwriting as The Huntingtons songs were based around girls, etc, while this set places Jesus, the real world-shaker, in the forefront but without resorting to cliche. Welcome back Cliffy.

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