Tesla
Into The Now

THE REVIEW

In the mid-80s, the United States gave birth to one of their countless hard rock/heavy metal realities destined over time to be forgotten and, in part, underrated. Besides Tesla, Savatage by Jon and Criss Oliva also come to mind, capable of fully establishing themselves only in the minds of a few aficionados. Tesla is one of those not exactly lucky groups, which for various reasons had to always fight to reach their intended goals. Yet, since their formation in 1984, the band had the fortune of keeping their lineup unchanged for a good 20 years, a rare event in the musical realm.

Theirs is a sustained and cadenced hard rock, expressed through the almost "grunge" voice of Jeff Keith and the guitars of Tommy Skeoch and Frank Hannon. Music that’s never too pompous, always outlined on the tracks of a personal hard rock but at the same time linked to the past and to the NWOBHM. So after a period of confusion lasting a good 10 years, the Sacramento band returned to the studio in 2004 with "Into the Now," the successor to "Bust a Nut" (from 1994). The opener, as well as the title track, shows us a band that despite a long break manages to bring all the anger and frustration of recent years into music, creating a song with a mighty rhythm and dry, precise vocal lines. Everything is in place, just like in the subsequent songs: no track seems useless but all have their own soul, some more rock-oriented, some more melodic, as in the case of the ballads "Words can’t explain", "Caught in a dream", and in the concluding "Only you".

However, compared to the past, it seems the band has lost some inventiveness: the pieces, though enjoyable in their structure, are quite standardized and similar to each other in form. Despite this, Keith and company still manage to keep their flag high and with tracks like "Miles away", "Got no glory", and "Come to me", they reaffirm their varied, simple, and melodic way of making hard rock. It is perhaps this "anti-star" attitude that has prevented Tesla from achieving the great successes they would have deserved: on the other hand, they are adored by the small circle of fans that follows them regularly.

"Into the Now" is a little gem for fans, another praiseworthy work by Tesla, one of the many realities in the world's musical undergrowth that has been far too underrated.

1. "Into The Now" (4:23)
2. "Look @ Me" (4:16)
3. "What A Shame" (4:29)
4. "Heaven Nine Eleven" (4:38)
5. "Words Can't Explain" (3:14)
6. "Caught In A Dream" (4:50)
7. "Miles Away" (6:55)
8. "Mighty Mouse" (4:15)
9. "Got No Glory" (4:20)
10. "Come To Me" (4:43)
11. "Recognize" (5:01)
12. "Only You" (4:34)