come and get it

…But now, things have changed. Tragik’s sixth album bursts with a different kind of energy. Vincent has laboured for many years in the shadow of the great AOR originals, but that long apprenticeship is now yielding the kind of results that stand on their own two feet. The evidence is a batch of finely crafted songs, brimming with memorable melodies. Vincent turns it all – like the tautly stretched ‘Where Would I Be’ (a song that suddenly launches into an MOR chorus) and the appealingly plaintive ‘Someone’s Gonna Hurt You’ – into performance art, passionate, powerful. And on ‘You Are The One’ and ‘When The Darkness Falls’, he clearly knows how to do intimate too.

It’s no surprise that the music is derivative still – show me something that isn’t – so the real trick is in merging the past with the present. Vincent gets huge help from lead guitar guests Vince O’Regan and Peter Cox. To say their solos are perfectly pitched and beautifully measured suggests cold precision. That would be wrong. Both temper their axework in the heat of Vincent’s emotive, compelling delivery, adding a calculated bite and a metrical sting to his sweetly sturdy melodies, carrying their share of the load, creating light and shade. It would be difficult to overestimate their contribution.

‘Feed My Soul’ shifts the tone: It’s a long, deep rock’n’roll exhale from Vincent as he draws on AOR and grown up powerpop to stamp his songwriting authority on the music. ‘Smokin Gun’ and ‘Rescue Me – Rise To The Sun’ continue what at times seems to be a journey of exploration, here examining progrock to determine what it can add to the songs’ swirling melodic rock cadences…

Read it in full here to find out why it got a 8/10!

Also Gabor from Strutter is impressed:

Tragik ‘Come and get it’ (Rock Company)

The history of me personally reviewing Phil Vincent records go back 20 years in time to be exact, because already in 1996 I started reviewing his music. Now many solo discs later, several side-projects, his focus nowadays is Tragik, a band he formed with guitarist Damian D’Ercole, with the help of a few session musicians on a couple of songs. However, still Phil prefers to do everything on his own, which sometimes makes it sound a bit the same after a while. Nevertheless, he does a great job and opener Where would I be of the 6th Tragik album come and get it, released on Dutch label Rock Company, this is one of his strongest melodic rocksongs in ages. The following 10 tracks are a surprise, because this new album is Phil’s best effort since his late 90s records. Highlights besides the excellent opener are the semi ballad You are the one, Someone’s gonna hurt you tonight and the hooky uptempo 80s AOR tune When the darkness falls. As usual, Phil’s love for women is shown on the cd artwork, so you have something nice to look at! Check it out for yourself if Dokken meets Stryper is your kinda melodic hardrock, more at: www.philvincentbands.com

Points: 8.1 / 10

Belgium Webzine Rock Report has published a very favorable review of the latest Tragik album giving it no less that 4.5 out of 5 stars!!

Always searching for the right label, Phil Vincent found accommodation for his sixth Tragik album with Rock Company from The Netherlands. The first things that caught my eye were the voluptuous lips (botox?) and the enormous boobs (fake?) of the woman on the front cover of “Come And Get It”. Although I like attractive women, it’s beyond me why she was ‘used’ for the cover. Indeed, sex sells! But what about the music? Well, although I warned Phil in the past for overkill, I have to admit that this platter is probably the best he has written, recorded, produced and mixed under the moniker of Tragik so far. We all know by now what a workaholic Phil is, but I guess he has excelled himself on this particular album. Eleven songs, written and recorded (in his Muzik Room) between January and October of this year, pass in review and there’s something for everyone:

Read the full article here.

Thank you Rock Report!

Tragik is the creation of Phil Vincent, amongst others vocalist with bands like Legion and Forest Field.

And indeed, this new work ‘Come and Get It’ is published by the label Rock Company, owned by Peter Cox, leader of Forest Field who participates in the guitars here. It is the sixth release of Tragik and to all the fans of the genre, a sublime work of melodic rock, with the voice of Vincent having a touch of Kip Winger.
There are songs for all tastes: from the initial melodic “Where Would I Be” and “Fallen Angel” outstanding ballad “You Are The One” through “Feed My Soul” with more hard rock elements in “Smoking Gun” It gets more progressive and heavy but still melodic in “Rescue Me / Rise to The Sun,” a 12 minutes song with a piano and inbetween a turn to a pop song, with many overlapping keyboards. “Someone’s Gonna Hurt You Tonight” is a wave of Hagar Van Halen era, while “Can’t Slow Down” is Tragik at their heaviest.
“When Darkness Fall” is more melodious, where the piano carries the rhythm and the chorus is most catchy. “Closer to the Sun” sounds like a Dokken light and the disc ends with “No Words”, an instrumental that begins with a guitar lick and towards the end evolves to one guitar with natural background sounds.
The only downside could be that the battery is programmed but they are so well made that you hardly notice. For fans of bands like Boston, Foreigner and Winger, ‘Come and Get It’ is a must for this year.

* small note, the drums are not programmed but played by Phil but still thanks for this awesome review!
** translation by Google with a little help, so hope we did the words justice!

Read the Spanish version here.

First Review for the new Tragik album online:

“Come and Get It” is the 6th album from TRAGIK, one of the projects / band from workaholic Phil Vincent. While Vincent announced he left his other group Legion to pursue a solo career, here’s another effort from Tragik, alongside his partner in this band, guitarist Damian D’Ercole.
Tragik is perhaps Phil Vincent’s most melodic rock band where he lends to a more personal material, even in an earnest manner than on the solo albums under his own name.
Combining massive hooks, multilayered vocals, heavy guitars, atmospheric keyboards, thunderous bass & drums, “Come and Get It” fires on all cylinders. There’s some friends contributing guitar solos to provide even more fire, such as Vince O’Regan (Legion), Peter Cox (Chinawhite) and Billy Roux (ex Tragik).
From the Foreigner-esque opener “Where Would I Be…?” to the hard rocker “Fallen Angel” (Winger come to mind) to the Journey meets Boston melodic rock of “You Are the One” (a highlight), the new Tragik album shows its ‘classic’ credentials.
“Smokin’ Gun” is another moving melodic rocker, “Smokin’ Gun” adds a hard rock groove, “Closer to the Sun” is filled with lots of harmony vocals and a sharp D’Ercole guitar work, while “Someone’s Gonna Hurt You Tonight” is a fine melodious semi-ballad with some Tyketto in it.
There’s also the quite interesting 12 minute opus “Rescue Me / Rise to the Sun” which shows Tragik’s progressive tendencies blending harder moments with melodic passages in the vein of John Elefante.

It has been said many times here on this blog, Phil Vincent never disappoints. “Come and Get It” is another solid product from his inexhaustible factory.
This new Tragik effort is varied like never before, the songs are well constructed, performed, produced & mixed. The only weak point is the dodgy artwork, but c’mon, who does not like a hot bimbo accompanying a rock album?
Strongly Recommended.

Now that surely are nice words! All the more reason to check it out yourself 🙂