by Simon Wright

Created on: January 20, 2008

The Answer are one of the hottest rock acts to have come out of the UK and Ireland in years, if not decades. Their bluesy heavy rock sound has been compared with many great acts such as Led Zeppelin, Cream, and Aerosmith. Usually, a band would struggle to justify comparisons with such legendary bands but in this case (speaking as a huge Aerosmith fan) I think it's entirely justified.

They have toured with and supported a who's who of legendary rock bands including Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, and Whitesnake and The Who! If you wanted proof that this band are the real deal, then the fact that such bands have recognised their talent should be good enough for most.

The Answer hail from Northern Ireland. For the most part, though, their sound is quite American and the singer's accent only really comes through when he's speaking to the audience, in between songs. Rise' is their debut album and is crammed full with great bluesy rock songs.

One thing I'd like to point out is that there are two versions of this album. The version you want to get is the Special Edition version, as it contains a bonus CD. The bonus CD is as good as the main CD and, amongst other things, contains a simply awesome version of the classic Aerosmith sound Sweet Emotion'. What's so great about it, is that they haven't simply trotted out a replica of the Aerosmith song; instead they've taken it and made it their own. Very impressive.

The main attributes that make The Answer stand out so clearly from the test of the wannabe rock heroes crowd are:

1. The singer's voice. This guy's got an amazing voice. On their website, he says that his hero was Paul Rodgers (of Free and Bad Company fame) and this may help paint a picture of the type of voice that Cormac possesses. I love bands that have singers whose voice can reach places that ordinary mortals can't. Seb Bach (formerly of Skid Row) is an example and Cormac Neeson easily slots into that category too.

2. The guitars. It's fine having a singer with a brilliant voice. However, to be a truly great rock band you also need a first rate guitar sound. Led Zep would not have been so great if Jimmy Page hadn't been there to complement Robert Plant's great voice. Luckily, Cormac Neeson managed to find his Jimmy Page, in the form of Paul Mahon. Mahon's Wikipedia entry says that he learned to play guitar after suffering a bad leg break playing rugby. He was forced to stay at home for 8 months and decided to pick up a guitar. It might have been an unlucky break

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