Pleasure to Burn

Pleasure to Burn, released in 2000, is Burning Rain's second album. Doug Aldrich's guitar is thick and glossy, and Keith St. John's singing gives the songs heat. It holds hard rock's frame while the rhythm keeps a suppleness. The line-up is unchanged from the debut, with Ian Mayo's bass and Alexx Makarovich's drums making the foundation. Pony Canyon carried it in Japan; Z Records brought it to Europe the following year. The opening “Fireball” takes off at full tilt, and “Love Emotion” follows. Track four, “Cherie Don't Break My Heart,” went to No. 1 on a German rock radio station and reached the top ten on stations across Europe. Through “Metal Superman” and “Judgement Day” to “Devil Money,” there are eleven songs. It keeps a classic feel, yet the playing is never nostalgic. As a more matured Aldrich-St. John collaboration it drew even higher praise than the debut. A record on which the fit between guitar and voice can be enjoyed. Note that the version now streaming is the 2013 deluxe edition, which adds an unreleased demo and an acoustic version of the title song.