Joe, who recently signed with Mascot Label Group, has emotionally spoken of his journey when announcing the 28 October release of his album Belly Of The Beast. After his stints with Rising Force and Deep Purple, Turner spent the mid-1990s through 2008, working on his solo career. It was during that time, Turner released an additional nine studio albums and two live albums, to go along with his 1985 offering, Rescue You. Your new album, Belly Of The Beast , was made with Swedish producer and death-metal musician Peter Tägtgren, and it’s surprisingly heavy stuff for you. It happened completely by accident, but some of the best things happen by accident,” Joe says. “I was not very familiar with Peter’s bands Pain and Hypocrisy, but when we met, I loved his personality, and I felt like we had chemistry together. On the writing side, you have to change and grow to mature. I had this in me. As far as pushing into a heavy vein, Peter said, I adapted my voice, which is the truth. It’s still me, though. I kept it dirty, gritty, and Metal.” Joe Lynn Turner and Peter Tägtgren With a title like Living The Dream, surely, I thought to myself, we’re into optimism, a cup half full? Musically, the song has a complete, almost commercial-type riff. The lyrics are a reflection on life, a life well-lived, with a hint of realism. This is a song about facing life’s challenges, and even if the dreams don’t come true, even if they don’t always turn out the way you wanted them to, you still tried, and you still lived your life. It’s a fabulous, realistic, honest look at all of us and a celebration of all of our lives, be they magic, mystical or mundane. This song is quiet, understated brilliance.

Is this “Disappointing” rating personal? Sure, but I am actually a person. Expecting and hoping for some classy AOR but instead getting some chugging generic metal leads to disappointment. Cap it all off with some over-the-top rants, and you’re left with a tepid outing that could have – no, should have – been so much more. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got several olde Rainbow albums I need to go snuggle up with. It’s also far past time to dive into Joe Lynn Turner’s solo discography and hear what I might have been missing out on.

The May 11, 2000 PBS show Between the Lions, featured his vocal on the song "Clobbered" in the season 1, episode 29 episode entitled Giants and Cubs. Another song, "Very Loud, Very Big, Very Metal", was also featured. George Gakis & Very Special Friends – Too Much Ain't Never Enough (2012) – "Street of Broken Dreams" Known for his mirror-sheen voice, this song sees JLT give it some hell with a real gravely feel to this tub-thumping anthem that sounds to me like a mix of Iron Maiden, Nightwish and yeah, Saxon, but all mixed up with Joe Lynn Turner’s singing. It’s dark, doomy and catchy, all at the same time. And if anyone thinks that’s an easy thing to create, think again. This song does what it says on the tin, telling the listener that all is not lost, no matter how bad things get,

Anger and pain are a great tool. If applied correctly, it could develop you to become the best version of yourself. Instead of running away, I was ‘’hiding in plain sight”. Carry my cross, I stand betrayed,” sings Joe, “my crucifixion is your disgrace.” Wow, you’d never hear him sing like that in Rainbow, but perhaps one of his predecessors might have done it. And there it is, a hidden, unspoken influence that seems to be there throughout, an influence that Turner embraces and makes his own.Diagnosed when he was three years old, Joe Lynn Turner has openly spoken about his journey with alopecia, the general medical term for hair loss, and how, from a young age, he had to deal with “emotional and psychological damage from cruel bullying at school.” Today, he presents his natural likeness publicly for the first time.