Bangalore Choir Rapid Succession: On Target II Review
Bangalore Choir
Rapid Fire Succession: On Target II
Bravewords Records
2025
Some albums unlock memories you thought you’d boxed up decades ago. Bangalore Choir’s “Rapid Fire Succession: On Target II” is exactly that kind of blast from the past, the kind that hits like you just cracked open an old CD binder and found the part of yourself that refused to quit Rock ’N’ Roll.
Bangalore Choir were always one of those bands you’d swear should’ve been bigger, too much bite for the Glam holdouts, too much melody for the knuckle-dragger crowd, and too good to get swallowed by the tidal wave that hit in the early ’90s. So, when they slap a “II” onto “On Target”, it isn’t some lazy sequel, it’s them staring the last three decades in the face and screaming "I heard you missed us, we're back"!
This thing rips out of the gate with that same sunbaked, leather-jacketed swagger the band had back in ’92, only now everything sounds more lived-in, more scarred, more dangerous. The riffs scream with youthfulness. The rhythm section hits like they’re pounding out years of frustration. And David Reece sings like he’s carrying the weight of every missed opportunity and every “what if” this band ever had, and he’s turning it into fuel. Sure, the band has continued to release albums, but none of them hardly come across like “II” does.
The choruses soar in that way only bands from this era know how to do – chock full of hooks and melodies that get stuck in your head for days and tough enough to make you want to roll the windows down and howl them into oncoming traffic. The mid-tempo tunes have that “aging gunslinger” energy – seasoned, weathered, dangerous and old enough to know better, but too young at heart to give a damn.
What makes “On Target II” hit so damned hard is the attitude. This isn’t nostalgia-by-numbers. This is a band taking their identity back, lighting the old torch, and swinging it like a battle axe. It feels like they’re reclaiming something, maybe for the fans, maybe for themselves, maybe for that version of Rock ’N’ Roll that refused to die even when the world moved on.
If you still proudly have the original “On Target” in your collection, grabbing “II” is a birthright and a must. Reese and company absolutely dominate and go all in on this album from the word go. This is a must for any fan of early 90’s Hard Rock.
Standout Tracks – “Swimming With The Shark”, “Bullet Train”, “The Light”, “Driver’s Seat”, “Rock Of Ages” and the heart wrenching ballad “Mending Fences”.