photo by Max Hertwig; photo courtesy of Twisted Rose

Twisted Rose is a German classic rock outfit whose music is hard-driving at times, hard-rock-styled mellower at others, but always an engaging, catchy blend of rockin’ guitars and vocals, clever songwriting, tight musicianship, and a bit of a showman’s flair for flamboyant delivery, when necessary. Ich habe vier Jahre lang Deutsch studiert, aber ich spreche nur ein bisschen; fortunately, everything’s in English, so I have no worries. The foursome on Twisted Rose’s newest album, Cherry Tales, is comprised of singer Caro, guitarist Chris Bones, bass player Tino (who was recently replaced by Alfred, per this December Facebook post and as noted on the band’s website), and drummer Luggy.

Album Review of Twisted Rose: Cherry Tales (7Us/7Hard)

image courtesy of Twisted Rose

Boom! Right off the bat, Twisted Rose grabs your attention with the crunchy guitar riffs of “Greed4Speed,” followed by intense vocals that echo the need for – no, the greed for – speed, at least musically. Lyrics like “I’m back, I’m back, I’m a damn hell on wheels. Eat my dust while I pass.” Yeah! I usually desire some tempo variance within a song, but “Greed4Speed” is a three-minute, full-speed-ahead adrenaline rush that, if anything, doesn’t last long enough. It totally rocks!

Next up, though, Twisted Rose showcases the ability to slow down. Thankfully. A reprieve, a chance to rest. Well, not exactly. I mean, they’re still a hard rock band, so the sound is heavy, and it even kicks off with some interesting guitar noodling before settling into the beat. Still, the slower tempo of “Wanted” is a nice reprieve. Though as the tempo slows, the heavy beat and power firmly insist “we are a metal band.” “Wanted,” though, isn’t just a soaring mid-tempo power rocker. Mid-song, a key change ratchets things up, providing variety within this mid-paced, powerful headbanger. Oh, and the closing “feel my pain” lyric followed by maniacal laughter? A priceless pièce de résistance. Or a cherry on top, to keep with the album title’s theme.

photo by Max Hertwig; photo courtesy of Twisted Rose

“Bring Back Those Days” leans into a blues influence, making it apparent from the guitar-only opening. The song plods along – metally, not boringly, but from a tempo perspective, it plods – but the song structure affords vocalist Caro an opportunity to include some inventive vocal runs, worth the price of admission.

The energy picks up again on “Say Hello.” The tempo isn’t necessarily as fast as it seems, but it is quite a ride. There are an off-beat “fast, make it fast” background vocal and a guitar line that curls back on itself that push the song forward, plus some aggressive drumming in spots, all seemingly tugging the song to move faster, providing an invisible tension that propels the track to a much quicker end than even the short 2:30 runtime might suggest.

photo by Max Hertwig; photo courtesy of Twisted Rose

“Crossing the Line,” a true power ballad, follows, with piano accompaniment and a Scorpions-esque nearly-spoken/sung balladic intro before guitars and a booming rhythm section join. Cracking vocals and lyrics like “I see now I was crossing the line; I feel now the seed of remorse” deliver this as a potential slow-dance favorite that becomes a much more curious romantic song choice when the lyrics are considered (in the vein of Warrant’s “Sometimes She Cries,” for example).

“Back to the Old Days” opens with a fifties rock-style guitar riff. Perhaps inspired by Marty McFly’s “Johnny B. Goode” but, of course, updated. Regardless, the axe stylings as the riffs roll strike a nostalgic tone, as do the vocals, which approach shouted-singing when such energy is required (while the backing vocals are, in fact, shouted). The tempo here is nearly as aggressive and non-stop as on the disc-opener, to the extent that, while the influencing decade is different, it’s another pure adrenaline-rush number.

photo by Max Hertwig; photo courtesy of Twisted Rose

“Friday Night Blues,” next, is a purely hard-rockin’ blues lament with the requisite blue axe riff declaring the album’s stylistic musical shift from the get-go. On this particular number, be sure to enjoy the axe solo. You can’t miss it, even as the primary lyric in the song is “you’re gonna miss me.”

Straightforward classic hard rock returns, serving up “Party Time.” For sure, you’ll find yourself singing along with the playful “oh-oh-oh” and “hey-hey-eyy” lyrics. The tempo on this song isn’t especially fast, but it is relentless. “Rock You Away,” next, is similarly styled and tempoed, but the singalong phrase is “wo-oh.”

“Skull” feels like a travelling song, a road trip song. More drivealong than singalong, if there is such a thing. But there’s also an uplifting, soaring feeling to the track. It’s a little harder rock than your typical gettin’-things-done movie montage music, but it would otherwise fit such a role.

“We Can’t Get Enough” kicks off with the recurring guitar hook that ties the song together and makes it one of the album’s memorable songs. That and the catchily repeated “more, more, more.” The desire for fame and success espoused by the lyrics also serves as the theme for the song’s clever music video. Oh, and hard rockers have gotta dig the explosion sound at the end. Because, you know, rock ‘n roll.

photo by Max Hertwig; photo courtesy of Twisted Rose

Twisted Rose closes Cherry Tales with the melancholic ballad “World is Burning.” It’s a heartfelt, emotional, powerful song that’s most obviously anti-war, with the proceeds from the song earmarked to help those affected by the war in Ukraine, but it also includes some broader pro-earth sentiment in the lyrics. If you don’t get a lump in your throat listening to this ballad, you’re probably not human.

Yeah, yeah, kind of a downer ending to an energetic, fun album, though you do get a sense of “people power” and solidarity from it, so that’s not a bad thing. Plus, it’s a worthwhile endeavor for art – even when that art is rock ‘n roll – to make you stop, think, and feel. Plus, you can always re-start the album if you have a need (or greed) for speed.

In total, Twisted Rose’s Cherry Tales is one of the best rock albums I’ve heard in the last year. Stylistically, this would have been a must-have release about 35 years ago, a big hit rock album with some chartable singles. Even today, with a nod to its classic rock roots, Cherry Tales is a fresh-sounding, modern hard rock album that’ll connect with young and old (sorry, not “old”; I mean, “classic”) rockers alike.

photo by Max Hertwig; photo courtesy of Twisted Rose

Looking Ahead

If you want to catch Twisted Rose live, be sure to check the “Tour” page on the band’s website every so often. The website currently lists a few dates in Germany from April through June and teases an October performance in Barcelona “to be announced.” Also, this November 28, 2023 Instagram post says Twisted Rose is back in the studio, so hopefully there’ve been some new future-favorites recorded that they’ll be sharing with us all in the not-too-distant future.