I am fucking tired of bands either concentrating on writing a catchy hook and forgetting about the lyrics or writing great lyrics and forgetting about the music. A song is about the total package, lyrics + music. Today's current artists are under pressure to create songs that sell and thus forgo the total package. Enter Royal Bliss. The band from Salt Lake City combines great lyrics with fantastic music. Their new CD Life In Between is an ear blessing from the gods over at Merovingian Music.

The history of the band is documented elsewhere, but suffice it to say, they have had their fair share of problems. Despite hardship the band has worked hard and After the Chaos II, commercially successful sixth album, has helped open so many doors for them. After the Chaos was a solid effort and there is a lot of anticipation for the album Life In Between.

The first song (and single) from Life In Between, is entitled Save Me. The song opens with, urgent guitars and a climaxing, yet pounding rhythm section. It isn't until Neal Middleton's, Rob Thomas-like, voice quenches the urgency for just a bit. The song continues to rise to the zenith at about the 2:00 minute mark where Neal begins to controllably scream, expressing his frustration and anger at the situation laid out in the lyrics. I can feel his pain and the emotion in his voice. The music rises to a crescendo until the guitars drop out letting Jake Smith (drums) march us to the tipping point. The guitars smash back in and you feel the person in the song can no longer take it. Holy shit! This is only the first song. After the first song I am wet with anticipation to see where this CD goes.

The rock continues pressing into Here They Come. The guitars chug the song forward as Neal harmonizes over them, pulling us in with his catchy tone and lyrics. The music precise and well rehearsed which is evident thanks to the great production on this album. I can see Here They Come being a fantastic live song and probably will become a staple in Royal Bliss' setlist for years to come.

The next song is Devils & Angels, which was first seen on After the Chaos II. I think this is a smart addition to Life In Between. It is a fantastic rock ballad that a lot of people haven't had the chance to hear. This is my first encounter with Royal Bliss and I had no idea what to expect. They blew me away.

The album weaves back and forth between soft, carefully crafted ballads and harder rocking songs. There is something for everyone on this album. The production quality brings just the right elements from the band to the foreground. It is a rich tapestry of rock guitar, controlled screaming, and great songwriting. The songs have great energy and lead themselves to great live songs. When the Royal Bliss start to tour in support of this album, it will be worth it to see them. I can assure you my cats enjoyed my performance of We Did Nothing Wrong.

I am just excited to see a return to fantastic song writing in rock songs. I have always been a fan of Rob Thomas' Matchbox Twenty and his ability to craft a well written pop song that is also catchy and memorable. But every time I wore my Matchbox Twenty t-shirt, I got beat up. "Hey they write great songs" I would protest. "Shut up fucker and eat dirt!" snarled James Dempsey. Well now I can wear my Royal Bliss shirt and kick James Dempsey in the testicles and hope he recites the lyrics to Save Me. When he does, I will lean down and whisper "No."

Check out the Royal Bliss MySpace site or the Royal Bliss Official Site for more information.

I am going to adapt the lyrics of Save Me to conclude this review: "All we need is someone to save us. I believe Royal Bliss have."