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Concert Review: Monsters of Rock Cruise – Day 4

By Shannon Wilk / May 19, 2023

Day 4 of the Monsters of Rock Cruise featured the best shows, in my opinion. Starting off the day with 2 phenomenal European bands, Reckless Love and Treat, followed by two greats from the ‘80s, KIX and Great White, then Sweden’s The Cruel Intentions, Ratt’s Stephen Pearcy, and all the way from Finland, Shiraz Lane. The day brought the best U.S. hard rock bands from the ‘80s, as well as Europe’s best hard rock offerings from the modern era to a cruise ship docked in Labadee, Haiti. Without further ado, here’s what we have to say about Day 4…

Starting the day were Reckless Love, from Sweden. These young and hungry rockers took on the country’s rock scene back in 2001, with their debut album coming out in 2010. While they may have been around in the ‘80s, you wouldn’t know it based on their musical style. With synths, gang vocals, monstrous drums, lightning fast guitar solos, innuendo-filled lyrics, and a beefy bass sound, if you close your eyes it could easily be Van Halen or Ratt up there. The whole band wore white suits with their instruments slung over their shoulders, rocking out and performing like it was midnight instead of noon, and the energy was infectious. The band’s frontman, Olli Herman, moves onstage like a young David Lee Roth and the women in the crowd were completely entranced. Reckless Love was easily one of the most entertaining shows of the entire 2023 Monsters of Rock Cruise and we hope to see them back in 2024.

Next up, coming from Stockholm, Sweden was Treat in Studio B. Formed in 1981 and reunited in 2006, Treat are out on their 40th Anniversary tour still embodying the melodic hard rock we all know and love. Their 1-hour set included songs from many of their 9 studio albums, including my personal favorite – Ready For The Taking. Treat clearly have the talent to hold their own against the stacked MORC lineup.

Yet another rock n’ roll show at Studio B, just after 6PM was Great White. With just one founding member (guitarist Mark Kendall) remaining, last year the band welcomed yet another new lead singer. The young gun Brett Carlisle is the 4th singer I have personally seen with Great White and I have to say he is one of the best. The dynamic of the band has shifted and the energy has lifted, the musicians interacting much more than before. The set included all the band’s hits from Lady Red Light to House of Broken Love to Mista Bone to Rock Me and Once Bitten Twice Shy.

For what would end up being their final performance on a Monsters of Rock Cruise, Maryland’s beloved hard rock band KIX took on the Pool Stage at 7:15PM. Just after the cruise ended, the band shared to their hometown crowd at the M3 Rock Festival that they would be performing their final show in September of this year. As the sun was setting and the wind was blowing, KIX was rocking our faces off with both newer and older tunes. “Thank you” remarks frontman Steve Whiteman, as usual. “You’re welcome fuckers!” the crowd yells back. As always, KIX put on a phenomenal show and MORC is definitely sad to see them go.

Next was a band that I was pleasantly surprised by and am now obsessed with, The Cruel Intentions. I headed back down to Studio B for 9PM to see yet another group of talented young Scandinavians. The band features former Vains of Jenna frontman, Lizzy DeVine, so of course they rocked Enemy In Me, a VOJ tune. It was songs like Sunrise Over Sunset, Kerosene and Chaos In A Bombshell that really got me, and many other audience members, hooked. The Cruel Intentions brought high octane, energetic hard rock, but more importantly, they have very solid songs. 

I closed out the night with two shows on the Pool Stage. First was Stephen Pearcy, the voice of the iconic ‘80s hard rock unit Ratt, at 10PM. Pearcy and his band rocked out an hour set of the Ratt tunes everyone knows and loves. While he may not have the pipes he used to, his stellar band picks up the slack.

Closing out the night were my favorite Finns, Shiraz Lane. The group walked onto a smoky stage promptly at midnight. The band played through a perfectly curated setlist, with songs from their 2014 EP all the way up to their latest album and everything in between. This quintet brings heavy-hitting drums, bass loud enough to shake you to the core, a guitar duo reminiscent of Skid Row’s Scotti Hill and Dave “Snake” Sabo, paired with the soaring vocals of the band’s frontman. I was lucky enough to catch both their sets back in 2020 on their first MORC and I was also lucky enough to catch both their sets on this cruise, 3 years later. To see such immense musical growth and maturity in such a short time span was a privilege and I look forward to seeing how the band continues to evolve.

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