Breathe deep, because the lifeblood of rock doesn’t always trickle through FM radio veins. It pulses instead in the overlooked arteries — bands like Axe, Moxy, and Starz, who kept melody and muscle locked in a searing embrace long after the spotlight swerved away.
Axe were purveyors of power-ballad alchemy before the MTV generation had a blueprint. Their track “Rock and Roll Party in the Streets” was less anthem, more invocation — a neon-drenched fist raised against the dying light of arena rock. Subtle synths kissed razor riffs, proving that finesse could rock just as hard as raw power.
Moxy snarled with Canadian grit and southern swagger. Their early records—particularly with Tommy Bolin guesting—split the difference between Sabbath weight and Montrose flash. Moxy’s sound was smoke and chrome: unapologetically loud, yet strangely soulful. Tracks like “Can’t You See I’m a Star” didn’t just hit—they swaggered into your bloodstream and stayed there.
Then there’s Starz — the misfit glam children of Cheap Trick and KISS, too clever for the mainstream but too hook-laden to ignore. “Cherry Baby” should’ve been a global smash, but Starz lived in the margins — a band that wrote choruses sticky enough to tattoo your brain, yet never cracked the code of commercial acclaim.
These bands didn’t fade — they fermented, waiting for ears attuned to deeper frequencies. In a post-streaming world gasping for authenticity, their records are essential reconnections to a time when hard rock dared to be both beautiful and blistering.
Buzz Drainpipe gives it: 4.5/5 broken drumsticks. Essential listening if your soul is starved for singable shred and six-string sentiment.
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