Taraxacum
Rainmaker

When it comes to equal quality between a historic/famous group and a semi-unknown one, I always choose to give my money to the latter type of band. While the foundational music for every genre is necessary, once I've digested the basics, I prefer to search for the up-and-coming group that can gift me with surprise, irreverence, and the right mix of energy and melody. I don't want to spend my days melancholy, looking back at the past. There are a ton of interesting bands that are ignored simply because they haven't managed to break through and record something under the protective wing of an established label. Rather than becoming the collector who fills insignificant discographic gaps of sacred monsters from 20-30-40 years ago, I prefer to take risks, searching for something new. I search, search, search, and often find... an insignificant handful of sand that makes me angry. But every now and then, I discover a small pearl, and the sensation I feel is entirely satisfying.

Taraxacum.

It's pointless to waste precious words to describe the history of a band that almost no one knows, so I'll sum it up in one line. Taraxacum is a side-project of other more famous groups (Edguy and Steel Prophet), and Rainmaker from 2003 is their second release, period.

The genre ranges from hard rock to more classic metal. In short, there are great riffs here to let loose and vent, a beautiful powerful voice capable of cradling us in the ballads and scratching in the more intense tracks. Excellent overall technique of the band, clean sound production, and great songwriting. Yes, in the end, the most important things in a work are, in my opinion, two: the voice and the writing of the songs. The tracklist features a dozen impactful songs that touch the 4/5 minute mark: enough time to hit the mark. They strike from different angles, surrounding the listener with a successful chorus, a tight solo, a gritty vocal, a sweet arpeggio, a good vocal combination, a break, and so on. It's not a CD to discard after hearing, appreciating, and digesting the killer track or single, whatever you want to call it. Here, on the contrary, we are faced with a heterogeneous and mature product that offers an hour of continuous enjoyment, of substantial hard rock, enriched by a refined melodic taste (in the never-too-gaudy choruses) that perfectly marries the raw sound of the guitars for an irresistible sweet and sour flavor.

For this reason, I recommend you listen to Rainmaker from the initial bellow of the opening track to the last note of the Spanish version of the ballad that lowers the curtain. To get an idea of their talent and the immediate appeal they provoke, give a brief listen to Disfunctional, Dark Sunglasses At Night, The Game Is Over, Never To Return. I'll be waiting here, hopeful.

So far, every rock-loving person to whom I've played this CD has always told me more or less the same thing: "Great band, I've never heard of them. Thanks."