Review: Mario Vayne – The Moment

Self-Release (May 23^rd, 2025)

Reviewer – Jason Hopper

Hailing from the land down under, Mario Vayne is a writer, singer, and guitarist who is set to release his debut album ‘The Moment‘, a collection of songs that ride the hard rock/AOR line. I do like musical surprises, and this was one of them. After one playthough, I can confidently say Mario crafted some of the catchiest songs you will find in this genre. This album is nearly perfect in every way, but does have one significant attribute that will be a deal breaker for some.

Let’s start with the positives, the songs. Opener ‘Diary of a Heart’ was played three full times before I moved on to the next song. It has both a infectious melodicism and the best lyrics, especially in the chorus. The way Mario phrases the words to fit perfectly over the melody line is simply brilliant. You can’t ask for a better constructed melodic rock anthem.

Recently released single ‘Baby (Way You Love Me)’ slows things down a bit but pumps up the choral refrain of the title. The background vocals sound almost choir-like in their approach. It’s an AOR/pop ditty with power chords adding a rock edge to it.

‘Electric’ borrows a bit of the melody line from Steve Stevens’ Top Gun Anthem, but Mario makes the song his own, with a minimalistic approach akin to a song you would hear on the opening credits of a streaming show. The chorus consists of the ostinato of just three words.  Simple, memorable, and effective.

I found myself waking up several days in a row with a tune immediately playing in my head…’Diamond’. A high-energy rocker about a dangerous lady, Mario once again knows how to phrase the words and notations in the bridge and chorus for maximum catchiness. When you hear it, the song will stick with you too.

I’ll just sum up a few more standouts. The title track sounds like a long-lost Survivor track. The piano takes the lead in this mid-tempo rocker that fans of that band will surely dig. There are two AOR semi-ballads back-to-back (‘Trust’ and ‘After the Rain’). While I am usually critical of the placement of ballads together, both songs are so good that I did not mind. It also increases the impact of ‘Diamond’ when it follows.

And now it’s time to address the album’s one flaw, but it’s a big one…the production. I immediately noticed a level issue with opening track ‘Diary of a Heart’. The song opens with a blazing guitar riff, but the levels for the guitar immediately drop when the band kicks in. Ballad ‘Sorry Ain’t Enough’ also has guitars that are leveled inconsistently. 

Issues like this are found on nearly every track, but the biggest faux pas occurs with Track 2’s ‘Rock N Roll Day’. The differences between the sonics of Track 1 and 2 are stark! ‘Rock N Roll Day’ has a poor demo level quality to it, especially the drums. It sounds like the microphones were across the room when the drums were being tracked. It’s a catchy number, but for the band to release it as a first single and place their worst sounding track in the second slot on the album is mind boggling. On a positive note, while all of the tracks have varying degrees of sonic issues, none of them sound as bad as this song.

This album had the potential to be my album of the year, but it was let down by the production.  It’s a damn shame Mario did not get a better sound for these songs. I really do love this album, but it could have been so much more. I can imagine a producer like Chris Laney doing wonders with an album like this. Despite this issue, I still have to give this album a high recommendation, with a sonic caveat. The songs are so good I can overlook the production quality. I suggest you check it out online and decide for yourselves. These songs deserve to be heard.

Track list:

1. Diary of a Heart
2. Rock N Roll Day
3. Baby (Way You Love Me)
4. Electric
5. Trust
6. After the Rain
7. Diamond
8. Sorry Ain’t Enough
9. The Moment
10. Timeless

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