Burning Rain

Emerging from Los Angeles, Burning Rain crafts hard rock steeped in the gritty textures of late-1970s blues-rock and the glossy, Sunset Strip-inflected pop-metal of that era. Assembled in 1998, the lineup united guitarist Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake, Lion, Dio, Hurricane), vocalist Keith St. John (Big Trouble, Medicine Wheel), drummer Alex Makarovich (Steelheart), and bassist Ian Mayo (Bangalore Choir). The self-titled Burning Rain arrived in 1999, followed by Pleasure to Burn in 2000; both sets earned solid responses across Japan and Europe before Aldrich’s demanding commitments to Whitesnake and Dio placed the band on an extended break. Aldrich and St. John revived the project in 2013 with Epic Obsession, now supported by bassist Sean McNabb (Dokken) and drummer Matt Starr (Ace Frehley). A further personnel change shaped the next release, as Brad Lang took over on bass and Blas Elias handled drums for 2019’s Face the Music.