Ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy recently announced his new project, ADRENALINE MOB, also featuring SYMPHONY X singer Russell Allen, guitarist Rich Ward (STUCK MOJO, FOZZY), guitarist Mike Orlando and bassist Paul DiLeo (NENA). The band made their intimate live debut on June 24th at The Hiro Ballroom in New York City. An excerpt from Elliot Levin's review of the show, published by Examiner.com, is available below:

"The band kicked off the night with a cover of Dio-era Black Sabbath’s Mob Rules, instantly getting the crowd moving with the classic anthem. In interviews, members of Adrenaline Mob have compared their sound to bands like Disturbed and Black Label Society but with Dio singing, and while that seemed like a tall order, in fact Adrenaline Mob truly does sound like some BLS riffs mixed with Disturbed’s radio-friendly production and songwriting, and Russell Allen’s powerful voice allowed him to both cover and emulate Ronnie James Dio’s distinct power metal sound.

Running through their entire upcoming record, the band played songs with titles like Hit The Wall, Feeling Me, and Hit The Gas, chugging hard rock with crushing Mike Portnoy percussion giving it extra drive. Lead guitarist Mike Orlando sizzled on his solos, shredding on almost every song alongside fellow axeman Rich Ward, from Fozzy and Stuck Mojo. But despite a heavy presence of Mike Portnoy fans filling the crowd, Allen made the biggest impact, singing, roaring, and vividly gesturing as he sang typical metal lyrics about fighting, driving cars, and other generic aggressive subjects.

But like other supergroups, the music itself might not equal the sum of its parts. It’s not fair to judge a song off of a single listen, and the riffs, beats, and vocals were all quality, but with the possible exception of a song called Indifferent, nothing really jumped out as a kick-you-in-the-head instant favorite. The songs are radio-friendly, easy metal listening, but that’s not necessarily what most metal fans want to hear, and this Examiner suspects that by merging such diverse raw talent, the finished results may lack any room for those raw talents to do what they do best on their own."

Go to this location for the complete review.