Stuckfish - 2024 - IV

(57:19; White Knight Records)






















Stuckfish were formed in 2017 by guitarist/producer Adrian Fisher and vocalist/lyricist Philip Stuckey, both of whom had been in the  1980's NWOBHM Wallsend-based band 'Overkill' (note, this is not to be confused with the other NWOBHM band of the same name who were also known as Dream Overkill). Since then they have released three albums and have been through more than their fair share of line-ups, including some who sadly passed away due to Covid. They came to the recognition of many with their third album, 2022’s ‘Days of Innocence’, and now they are back with their fourth. Alongside Ade and Phil are Paul McNally (keyboards), Adam Sayers (drums & percussion) and Phil Morey (bass) and this album includes not only their shortest song ever but also their longest (which is less than ten minutes, so is it really long?).

If ever a band could be classified as the definition of crossover prog then this is it, as here we have a melodic rock band with progressive tendencies as opposed to a band approaching the genre from the other direction. There is no doubt this is a pleasant release, and it reminds me of the material I used to hear from Now & Then back in the Nineties, and I can imagine these guys on Frontiers as much as I can on White Knight as most of the acts on this label are far more overtly progressive. Mind you I can see a bidding war for their next release as does it really matter what pigeonhole they sit in musically? Music is not a pigeon, and the only thing one needs to worry about is whether it is good or bad, and for the most part this is very good indeed.

Highly commercial, with loads of nods to the American music scene of the early Eighties, it is difficult to reconcile this with anyone coming from the NWOBHM scene as it is far more sanitised than those early rough days. The only issue is that there is too much sugar, and there are times when it needs some bite to cut through all the pleasantness – I wonder if they are quite this sweet when playing live, as this could definitely do with more bite. Mind you, it is a fun album nonetheless, and anyone into melodic rock will probably find this very interesting indeed.  

Kev Rowland, February 2025

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