They’ve been flying the flag for Irish metal, hard rock, classic rock, call it what you will ever since they first performed together at the 2004 Vibe For Philo. The Wicklow four-piece have certainly gotten about the place in the interim, touring Europe and further afield with the like of Thin Lizzy, Dio, WASP, Thunder, Fish, Y&T, Hawkwind, Blue Oyster Cult and Northern rockers The Answer.
Their third album – and their first in five years – sees them take it up a notch in almost every respect. The playing is faultless, while the production is crisp and dynamic, without suffering from the all-too-prevalent Loudness Wars syndrome that blights so many recordings these days
But it’s the songs that mark Glyder out as a cut above the rest of the hard rock hordes. Not surprisingly, there’s a strong Lizzy-esque feel to rockers like ‘Jack Strong’ and ‘Innocent Eyes’, with ‘Make A Change’ especially recalling Lizzy’s mighty ‘Killer On The Loose’ in the speed riffage stakes. They take it down a notch or two, tempo-wise on the nostalgic ‘Back To The Water’ while the epic title-track - an atmospheric ballad with the kind of soaring-into-the-stratosphere guitar solo that Gary Moore would have been proud of – is quite possibly the crowing achievement here. That said, bonus track ‘Time To Fly is another definite highlight, with nice use of organ making a change from the six-string assault.
While there’s nothing mind-blowingly original about what Glyder do (it’s not called classic rock for nothing) they do it with style and conviction.