The Dead Daisies, Radiance (2022)-Review

“The new album Radiance is our 2nd album with Ben Grosse producing from top to bottom. We had a great time composing and recording the record and I’m very excited for you all to hear what we put together. Definitely a heavy album, but with some cool twists and turns! Hope you all like it” — Doug Aldrich

4 min readOct 12, 2022

I’m going to confess that considering Glenn Hughes’ job prospects and musical abilities, as well as his musical background, I didn’t expect his stay with The Dead Daisies to go beyond ‘Holy Ground’. However, he is here on the new offering from this tireless band that goes album a year at a time like in the old days. This album also marks the return of Brian Tichy on drums.

Going back to ‘Holy Ground’ and comparing it to ‘Radiance’, we feel that somehow Glenn has settled a bit more into the band’s style. Perhaps on the previous album the bassist brought songs that he had written not exactly for The Dead Daisies, but here we return to the hard rock of simple and catchy riffs, an equally resounding bass and sometimes overwhelming guitar solos, coming from the hands of none other than Doug Aldrich, who like Hughes and Tichy, has taken the opportunity to work with the crème de la crème of rock and metal.

High voltage songs, with riffs that recall the sweat of impalas running through the savannahs of the west, and Hughes’ voice that is unmistakable. On the first few tracks he doesn’t abuse the throat, but we know he’s waiting for his chance. The first three songs are potential singles and it’s not until the title track that the band turns heavy with a heavy, cadenced riff that only loosens up with the chorus “on the radio” in a mix where we have to remember Black Sabbath and other bands, while Hughes unleashes himself at times.

The promo says that this band is always giving a new dynamic to a classic style, and they are right. The energy flows from beginning to end like a stream that weaves through the compositions. An example is the simple riff of “Born to Fly” that nevertheless pushes and fills our hearts with blood flow. It’s always a pleasure to hear a talk box and Doug brings it to the beginning of the enigmatic “Kiss the Sun”.

The purple sound of “Come Taste the Band” invades the first notes of “Courageous”, which finally doesn’t live up to expectations, according to its beginning, but can be a good piece for live, with Tichy adding a discreet cowbell at times. “Cascade” shows that besides the festive riffs, TDD likes to keep some darkness and a more marked heavy touch. As a fellow member of this website would say, a blast, and it was not the first and not the last. Here is the festive, but strong “Not Human” where the bass rhythm makes the difference, and a really attractive solo.

They end with “Roll On”, a piece that has the Hughes stamp and sister of some that the bassist has written throughout his career. A preciousness with light orchestration and a guitar solo from the soul.

Obviously, I’m sure The Dead Daisies now fill bigger venues. Glenn Hughes’ presence is magnetic. The producer has been Ben Grosse and the album was released last September 30th. If you liked ‘Holy Ground’ you will like this one, and if you are one of those who follow The Dead Daisies from before, you will also enjoy it a lot.