_{Former Dokken guitarist George Lynch just seems to be one of those artists who is constantly working and releasing great new material. The latest project is a collaboration with Stryper frontman Michael Sweet. The album “Only to Rise” by Sweet & Lynch is released through Frontiers Records on 23rd January. Also featured on the album are bass player James Lomenzo (White Lion, Megadeth etc) and drummer Brian Tichy (Foreigner, Whitesnake etc).  That line-up alone should be enough to grab your attention. When you take a listen to the album you’ll discover that it lives up to expectations.}

_{The album can be pre-ordered from several locations including Michael Sweet’s webpage - http://www.michaelsweet.portmerch.com/stores/product.php?productid=19360&cat=0&page=1&featured – 10 buyers will also be randomly selected to receive a phone call from Michael. The track “Time Will Tell” will be available for download as soon as the album is ordered.}

_{Also check out the new website - http://sweetandlynch.com/}

_{As is often the case with such projects, some of the artists have worked together in other bands or on other recordings. Lomenzo and Tichy worked together in Zakk Wlyde’s Pride and Glory and Lynch has worked with both artists on previous projects. Quite often these “super-bands” involving a collaboration of artists never get the opportunity to deliver in a live setting, but there are apparently plans to get “Sweet & Lynch” out on the road.}

_{There are 12 tracks on “Only To Rise” and not one filler! I’ve been listening to the album quite a bit over the holiday period and the more I do the harder it is to pick out a handful of favourite tracks! At time of writing I’ll go with “The Wish”, “Like a Dying Rose” (included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 2nd January), “Recover”, “Divine” and “September”. The next time I listen to the album I’ll undoubtedly think to myself “I should have included that one!”.}

_{Check out the band members’ websites –}

_{George Lynch - http://www.georgelynch.com/}

_{Michael Sweet - http://www.michaelsweet.com/}

_{Brian Tichy - http://www.briantichy.com/}

_{About “NI Rocks Recommends”}

_{The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. To be honest I’m not really a big fan of traditional “Reviews” which essentially just represent one person’s opinion. With “NI Rocks Recommends”, I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album.}

_{My musical tastes cover most things rock; from the not too melodic to the not too heavy. The albums that I’ll be recommending are merely those that I would buy myself and which you’ll be hearing played on my shows on Rock Radio NI.}

_{Check out NI Rocks on Facebook – www.facebook.com/NIRocks or Twitter - www.twitter.com/NIrelandRocks}