SERPENTINE - A Touch Of Heaven (2010)

SERPENTINE’s debut ‘A Touch Of Heaven’ is the culmination of two and a half years of work and dedication of a band founded by trio Gareth David Noon, Gareth Vanstone and Chris Gould.
When Noon returned from a vacation in 2007, an excited Vanstone informed him of the availability of axe-slinger Gould.
Noon recalls: “Gareth Vanstone and I had been writing rough material for a few years with no actual goals. It wasn’t actually until 2007 when we set up a jam session with Chris Gould that the whole thing actually started to take shape, and Serpentine was truly formed.
He happened to be a friend of Vanstone’s brother and he heard some of our rough demos.
We met up on a Monday, and by Tuesday afternoon we had finished a basic cut of our first song. It was instant chemistry.”

Fast-forward to the winter of 2008 and a chance encounter at a recording studio in Blackwood, South Wales between Gould and Shy drummer Bob Richards, which was to be the catalyst for Serpentine to hit top gear and get the band off the ground after 18 months of songwriting as a trio.
Less than a month later, Tony Mills (SHY, TNT) and his world reknowned, stratospheric vocals became the voice of Serpentine, and the band spent the next few months completing the demos for what has become the band’s debut album, ‘A Touch Of Heaven’.

In the summer of 2009, the band – with new members John Clews (Guitar) and Charlie Skeggs (Drums) in tow- decamped to M2 Studios in Staffordshire to begin reshaping their rough demos into what can be heard on the record, with Mark V Stuart (Magnum) and Sheena Sear twiddling the knobs behind the desk.

Keyboard flourishes, lush harmonies and breathless vocals provide the opening of the title track before the main riff kicks in aided by some surging guitars and Serpentine make an immediate impact.
“Whatever Heartache” will delight fans of JOURNEY and is the obvious first single for which the band have also released an excellent video; an anthemic, sweeping epic with double tracked guitars and a killer chorus.
The moody “Lonely Nights” and the ballad “For The Love Of It All” both sounds natural and from the heart.
Emotional is the word to describe “Let Love Rain Down”, while “We Belong” is like a summer breeze to your ears… SURVIVOR spirit is back!
You will be surprised by the closing track, a cover of the classic “Unbreak My Heart”.

This is an album that deserves to be heard live and hopefully the band will have the opportunity to take it on the road this year.

1. A Touch Of Heaven
2. Whatever Heartache
3. Lonely Nights
4. For The Love Of It All
5. Let Love Rain Down
6. In My Blood
7. Fashion
8. We Belong
9. Love Suicide
10. Unbreak My Heart

Vocals : Tony Mills
Lead & Rhythm Guitars : Christopher Gould
Lead & Rhythm Guitars : John Clews
Keyboards : Gareth David Noon
Bass : Gareth Vanstone
Drums : Roy Millward

320