Review | Joel Hoekstra’s 13 – From The Fade

Frontiers Music srl

Guitarist Joel Hoekstra presents his fourth album for his project Joel Hoekstra’s 13. Ever since the 2015 debut ‘Dying To Live’, throughout ‘Running Games’ (2021) and ‘Crash Of Life’ ((2023) Joel made use of the services of power drummer Vinny Appice (Last In Line, Heaven and Hell, Dio), keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Black Country Communion) and bassist extraordinaire Tony Franklin (The Firm, Blue Murder) on all these albums. He used Jeff Scott Soto and Sir Russell Allen as singers but switched to powerhouse vocalist Girish Pradhan on ‘Crash Of Life’. Girish is also the main man on ‘From The Fade;’ with Jeff Scott Soto doing all background singing.

BANG FOR YOUR BUCK

The ten songs on  ‘From The Fade’ deliver a bang for your buck. The accent lies on robust yet very melodic and energetic heavy rock where not only Joel takes the limelight, but also Girish with his singing (the guy has a huge range but also can do a ballad), Derek Sherinian with his colorful interludes and Franklin with his hefty bass lines are able to step up. And Appice as always brings an album stability, groove and power. All honky dory then, I hear you think?

SLIGHTLY DOUBTFUL

Yes, this album is for most of the time crunchy and a joy to hear. Yet, there are a few tracks that I find slightly doubtful such as ,,Will You Remember’’ that just does not have what it takes for me. But then when you listen to ,,Misunderstood’’ where every musician gets a slight solo-spot you just know that things are turning out okay for this album. The same goes for ,,Free To Be’’, the upbeat opener ,,You Can Give’’ and ,,The End Of Me’’, a power ballad/rocker where Girish takes center stage with his power voice and reach with Derek and Joel taking things up towards a climax, driven by Vinnie and Tony, before taking things down again. Absolutely the highlight of this album together with ,,Misunderstood’’.

JOEL HOEKSTRA’S 13 – THE CONCLUSION

Although the musical direction Joel Hoekstra has taken is not really different from its three predecessors, yet again Hoekstra has done a fine job. No real slip-ups except maybe for ,,Will You Remember’’, ‘From The Fade’ is consistent, sounds excellent and has overall quality.

Release date: 27 February 2026