Leaving the End Open

Leaving the End Open is the third album, on which Hardline layered a smooth AOR feel over a strong hard-rock base. Released on Frontiers in 2009, Johnny Gioeli’s soaring singing and Josh Ramos’s tidy guitar make the songs dramatic yet easy on the ear. From the opener “Voices,” the balance of drive and melody holds to the end. While keeping past appeal, the production and arrangements have a grown-up calm. From the hook-laden “Falling Free,” “Start Again” and “Bittersweet,” to the introspective “She Sleeps in Madness,” the love song “Give In to This Love,” and the closing title track, a vocal-led structure stays consistent. The stance of winning you over with song quality rather than flash conveys the band’s maturity. Johnny Gioeli’s expressive voice is the firm axis throughout, leaving a quiet afterglow. With an undimmed melodic sense and a mature poise, it balances the class and heat of melodic rock at a high level.