Francesco Marras “Out of the Fire”
Tygers of Pan Tang’s Francesco Marras gives us guitar-happy melodic hard rock on his new solo album.
As he has proven with Tygers of Pan Tang in recent years, Francesco Marras is a great guitarist. On his solo album, he gets to shine under his own name.
In 2020, the Italian guitarist was recruited by the veteran NWOBHM band Tygers of Pan Tang as its new lead guitarist. He has quickly established himself in the band. Now we get to hear more of him as a solo artist. “Out of the Fire” is a great melodic hard rock album. Francesco’s guitar skills are undeniably terrific. He is also a fine songwriter. He understands that this kind of solo album shouldn’t be all about guitar wankery. It is about using his guitar skills as a foundation to create great songs.
Francesco plays all the guitar and bass parts on the album. Additionally, he sings (and does so very well) on six of the songs. The other four songs are graced by guest vocalists: David Readman (Pink Cream 69), Iacopo Meille (Tygers of Pan Tang), Gianni Pontillo (Victory) and Daniele Ledda (Twilight Zone). The album also features drummer Pavel Ljubicic, keyboardist Marco Cossu and bouzouki player Marco Garrucciu.
I love the drive of “Cyber Lust” (with Francesco’s fellow Tyger Iacopo Meille on vocals) which reminds me somewhat of Europe’s “Got to Have Faith”. The catchy “Carnival of Darkness” is a standout track with Gianni Pontillo on vocals and excellent guitar work by Francesco. “Rise from the Ashes” is a riffy 80s song of the best kind. “Lost Souls”, sung by David Readman, is another of the album’s best songs.
Francesco Marras’ “Out of the Fire” is out today via Hell Tour Productions.
https://www.francescomarras.com
