John and Dino Elefante take a lot of flak for producing a formulaic pop rock sound (and some of it is founded in truth), but ya gotta applaud 'em for their most recent hard rock feats--the monumental "Miracle Mile" album from Guardian, and this Fear Not album. What? Pat the "slick production guys" on the back for a dirty 'n' gritty hard rock album? 'Fraid so (Sorry, couldn't resist using that pun). The sonics on this monster are big and clean. The dirtiness ascribed here comes in the meaty guitar tones. The BGV's bear the over-the-top Elefante trademark, but Larry Worley's vocals have so much texture and style that he makes up for 'em. Those who accused the band's earlier incarnation--Love Life--of being wimpy lyrically will be overjoyed to hear the chorus of, "Yes! We have a God!" in the second track. Fear Not achieves a big sound that's not unlike Tesla meets the current Poison. It's full and is often textured by either hot BGV's or acoustic guitar. Overall, it's a consistent listen, a million times better than the Love Life album, and it holds up to anyone's sonic standards. If they can keep crankin' out tunes as good as these, they'll be around a while.