Dan Byrne's 'This Is Where the Show Begins' - Album Review

I am writing this review at the end of what has been a hot and frustrating week. The current heatwave has just about come to an end, at least where I live, but the last few days have been a struggle due to the high temperatures - and where I live was not even one of the worst-affected areas of the country. Concerns relating to travel, as the UK's rail system can be quite fragile during high temperatures, meant that I opted not to go to London on Tuesday, too, which meant that I missed seeing one of my all-time favourite bands Queensrÿche live again. Frustratingly, the travel there and back would have likely been absolutely fine, despite maybe some short delays, whilst the concert seemed to go off without a hitch. I have been rather down about my own poor decision making this week, a rare occurrence of me falling in line with the 'abundance of caution' mindset that has gripped the country following the pandemic, but music has always been there to provide a pick-me-up - and the latest of 2026's releases that I am covering on this blog is This Is Where the Show Begins, the debut solo album from the Liverpool-based hard rock singer-songwriter Dan Byrne. I first came across Byrne in 2021 as a member of Revival Black, when I saw the band perform a decent if unremarkable set opening for Vega, and then again in 2024, this time as a solo artist, opening for a double bill of Tyketto and Little Caesar. I enjoyed Byrne's solo set more, but I was not totally sold - so I was surprised that, over the past year or so, the hype that has been building towards the release of Byrne's debut solo album has been as big as it has been. The level of hype is relative of course, and confined to the UK rock scene, but compared to most newer acts Byrne seemed to generate a lot of excitement before he had substantially released anything substantial - largely on the back of 2023's Beginnings EP and seemingly being pretty good on social media. I ended up seeing Byrne again, this time as a headline act, earlier this year - a show which I certainly enjoyed but I am still not sure that I was totally sold, despite him playing to a packed Exchange in Bristol. It likely did not help that I had been blown away by Silveroller the day before, my discovery of the year so far, who are easily my favourite up-and-coming UK-based rock band at the moment, but I still did not really buy into the hype. He comes across as a very nice, if overly earnest, man, who can certainly write decent songs and has a strong voice - but for me he lacks presence and that unknowable quality that just seems to push certain people to stardom. I am not sure his voice is as powerful as some of the TikToks would have you believe - but Byrne is certainly a strong singer and I do like his overall approach for the most part. Turning to This Is Where the Show Begins, then, and my view is largely the same. This is a solid and enjoyable modern hard rock album - but it certainly has not blown me away. I think back to British rock and metal debuts such as The Morning After's You Can't Hurt Steel or Heaven's Basement's sole release Filthy Empire (which I reviewed here) and this album certainly has not made anywhere near as much of an impact on me - but there is a lot to like here despite this. The Heaven's Basement reference is timely, too, as the band's former guitarist David Radahd-Jones produced the album, co-wrote two of the songs, and played various instruments throughout. The core band here is guitarist Glenn Quinn (Tigertailz; Son of Man), bassist Colin Parkinson (Inglorious), and drummer Max Rhead (Tribeless; Kira Mac; Kit Trigg; The Desert Plaza) - although Bryne himself also plays some guitar and keyboards.

There are a few other players here, especially as one song has been re-purposed from Beginnings seemingly without being re-recorded, but the core band, alongside Radahd-Jones, that largely accompanies Bryne on the road backs him during the 10 tracks here. This is quite a short album so it does not outstay its welcome, although I do feel that it is quite front-loaded. Kicking off with Saviour, the album gets off to a strong start. The main riff has quite a cinematic feel to it, with tough rhythm guitar and bass accents - with the riff grinding away in the background whilst the drums lay down simple hi-hat groove. The song builds quite slowly, then, with the rest of the band not really kicking in until the chorus, but Byrne sings in a nasally manner over this gradual build - before the song explodes into a powerful chorus, backed by a more up-tempo and bluesy riff. Byrne switches between a tougher, more nasal delivery during the verses and a more powerful approach during the choruses - whilst somewhat gospel-inspired backing vocals are utilised during the chorus to allow for a hooky refrain. There are no real big instrumental moments here, and they are largely a rarity throughout the album, but the main riffing throughout is powerful and hard-hitting - whilst the chorus is memorable. She's the Devil is the song that seemed to do well on TikTok, and it is a strong effort that showcases a rawer, slightly more old-school hard rock sound. It opens with a huge bassline, which is soon doubled by the guitars - and there is a strutting blues rock sound throughout. Byrne moves away from his more nasal approach here, letting rip a bit more, and he does sound great here - especially during some of the more high-octane moments of the chorus. This is certainly a memorable and hard-hitting track, but for me it just sounds a bit too close to Inglorious' core sound for comfort. With Inglorious' bassist on the track, too, it does make me wonder if this is a bit of an attempt to fill the void left by that band's seemingly now quite-sporadic existence. From the off I could hear Nathan James singing this one, and Inglorious' five albums are filled with songs like this - so as much as I enjoy the song it just feels a bit too familiar overall for me. Praise Hell is a bit more varied and interesting, with a more layered production that includes prominent piano and other keyboard parts - alongside some hooky lead guitars to open things up. Vocally, Byrne goes for a bit more of a soulful approach here. He does not let rip as he did during the previous number, instead going for a more restrained and bluesy approach during the piano-driven verses. This approach really suits him, and I prefer it to the more modern nasally approach that he adopts at times - and the song is likely one of my favourites here as a result. It is a song that just feels like quite a bit of thought has gone into it arrangement-wise. The gospel-esque backing vocals from the first song return, and are used to good effect during the chorus, whilst the use of lots of different keyboard textures and more of a lead guitar approach gives the song a big sound. There is a melodic guitar solo later on, too, which continues on even after Bryne starts to sing again - which is a trope I often really like. Quite a few of the songs on this album are fairly straight ahead rockers, with little to write home about arrangement-wise, but this one much more interesting and it shows that Byrne has something about him as a songwriter - and I would like to hear more songs like this from him going forward.

Sober is a bit more restrained, opening with some hypnotic clean guitar melodies and the occasional synth sparkle - over which Byrne soon starts to sing. Whilst not exactly a ballad, the song is slower overall and less hard rocking than many of the cuts here - even though the eventual chorus is bigger, with huge drum rolls and stabbing guitar riffing contrasting with the relatively smoothness of the rest of the track. The more prominent use of keyboards works well for me, with the verses having quite a pleasing spacey feel thanks to their presence, alongside the memorable clean guitar melodies, whilst the toughness of the band is really felt during the chorus - which sees Byrne showing that his somewhat more restrained vocal approach can also work against a hard-hitting backing. This is another song where he rarely lets rip, but the vocal approach works well in my opinion - especially given that much of the song is on the more low key side. Cherry & Leather is another favourite of mine, and it was one of the songs that really stood out when I saw Byrne live earlier this year. The main riff might be simple, but there is something very memorable and hard-hitting about its descending melodies, and the darker, hard rock sound that the song takes, with a strong bass presence, speaks to me. There is also a bit more variety in the overall arrangement, too, with some lead guitars coming in part way through each verse for effect - and I really like the way that Byrne utilises the higher end of his register here. He is not screaming or really pushing himself, but the more natural higher-pitched vocal lines during the chorus just make it that little bit more memorable than it otherwise would be - and it also helps that the chorus is just hooky in and of itself. Big riffs and strong melodies are always a winning combination for me - although a few little twists and turns also help, which is why both Praise Hell and Cherry & Leather are the standout cuts for me here. Death of Me, which also appeared on Beginnings, is re-used here - and as I said earlier it does not sound like it has been re-recorded. As such, the song is likely familiar to Byrne fans at this point - but the darker, somewhat slower moving rocker sits nicely on the album. It has more of a modern overall sound than some of the songs here, with the slow-burning piano-led verses and the lack of any big hard rock riffs, but the tough chorus still sounds strong - with some vocal melodies that help the song to stick. Slightly more industrial-sounding guitar leads are utilised later on for effect, but really the guitars here do little of note apart from provide a heavy backing during the choruses and some of the later verses - whilst the piano and Byrne himself vocally do much of the heavy lifting. In my view, the rest of the album is a step down from what came before - with the last four songs seemingly less interesting. Temple is a song that part of me wants to like, as there are certainly some strong hooks, and the way the song builds around some piano and percussive drumming is interesting - but lyrically it leaves a bad taste. I am not always a lyric guy, although I love a good concept album and well-written lyrics often speak to me, so I can often block out inane lyrics - but occasionally a song rubs me up the wrong way for some reason, and the main chorus hook just feels a strange mix of cheesy and sleazy; whilst a bridge section later expands on this vibe. It is certainly not a terrible song, but I just cannot really get past the way the lyrics make me feel - especially as they seem very different to Bryne's usual positive vibe and personality.

Pulling Me Under gets back to a more riff-driven approach, with the opening guitar riff certainly a memorable one that sounds quite similar to a few others that have already been heard on the album. I think that is largely my issue with this song. It is not a bad song at all, and the chorus is decent thanks to the aforementioned riff, but it is less memorable than many of the songs that were featured earlier on in the album - and those songs just did what this is trying to do in a more convincing manner. As such, there is nothing here that really makes the song stand out from the crowd on the album - although there is perhaps a bit more of an atmospheric backing this time thanks to a bigger synth presence. The riff and some of the vocal hooks during the chorus save the song, though, it is just not one of the standout cuts here in my opinion. Hate Me picks up the pace, opening with a pretty energetic guitar riff - which later forms the basis of a stop-start verse, alongside a strange synth accompaniment. This is a song that goes for a heavier overall approach, although there is a bit of a variety thanks to something of a more percussive chorus and the big synth backing. It is one of those strange songs, though, where the chorus never feels like the song's main focus point - with the two-part verses much more interesting. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I feel that the song lacks some really soaring hooks - even if the percussive approach taken during the chorus does break up the heaviness elsewhere. It is a bit of a strange song arrangement-wise, then, and it is not one that has really grown on me all that much during my time with the album over the past month or so. The album then comes to a close with Home, a song which I saw Byrne talk about in interviews as being the song on the album that was very different to everything else. I am not sure that I agree, really, as to me it just sounds like an extension of some of the more modern hard rock influences that are very present throughout many of the songs here. This is somewhat the logical extension of songs like Death of Me in my view - pushing a song like that in a much more cinematic direction with big synths, formless guitars, and a pretty strong overall vocal. I get the impression it is a song that Byrne is very proud of, but for me it does not really hit the spot. There are some strong moments, such a somewhat more symphonic and choral mid-section - but the main issue I have with it is that the guitars are a bit lifeless. I like a cinematic rock song, but so many of the overly modern-sounding hard rock bands forget that they need to riff - and Home never really riffs. There are certainly some good ideas here, with some of the piano-led sections working well, alongside the aforementioned symphonic side of the song, but otherwise it lacks real hard rock grit and I wish that there was more of an epic, riff-led sound to close the album out. I think that I have sounded probably quite negative throughout this review, and This Is Where the Show Begins is certainly not going to trouble my end of the year list, but I do actually like most of this album - it just does not blow me away and I do not feel that my view aligns with the relative amount of hype surrounding it. In truth, this has often been the case. With the exception of Heaven's Basement briefly, the young bands I champion rarely get the hype that others I find less interesting do - but nevertheless it is always good when any new act gets some level of hype, and Byrne is certainly a talent that has produced a strong debut album.

The album was released on 22nd May 2026 via Frontiers Records. Below is Byrne's promotional video for Praise Hell.