DESCEND - Through The Eyes Of The Burdened (CD)

Swedish newcomers Supernova Records are sweeping the Swedish market for new, interesting, upcoming bands in the heavier genres of metal. Descend is one of the new additions to the roster. The band’s debut album opens with nice acoustic plucking which moves into a progressive metal arena, showing great promise for this new five-piece. When the vocals enter, it’s growl. I was brought up on the seventies heavy rock and the 80s metal and used to be allergic to growl, but have actually grown to like some growlers. What I do like is when they have a good vocal tone. Unfortunately singer Nima is not in the category of growlers I enjoy listening to, sorry. However the band sounds quite outstanding musically, tight as a rat’s ass and each musician on top his game. Furthermore the songs are actually killer! I guess you would label this progressive or technical death metal. I really like the way they incorporate some classical guitars into the brutal technical metal of A Sudden Sense Of Clarity (a nod to In Flames, maybe?). However as soon as the vocals enter it sort of ruins it for me. The singer would be better off in a more old school oriented death metal band. I wish the boys would learn from Opeth, Katatonia and even In Flames and incorporate a bit more clean vocals. The songs are killer and I’d definitely wear out this CD, if only… damn, I can’t get over the vocals of this one. Sorry.

Year: 2011
Label: Supernova
Country: Sweden
Link: www.myspace.com/descendsweden

MISS BEHAVIOUR - Last Woman Standing (CD)

German label Avenue Of Allies are really giving it their all to be a melodic rock force to be reckoned with. With several really interesting releases in their roster they have now taken Swedish AOR band Miss Behaviour under their wings. The band’s debut “Heart Of Midwinter” (2006) was a really good effort. “Last Woman Standing” has however elevated the band to a whole new level. Maybe it’s the fact that original members Erik Heikne (guitar) and Henrik Sproge (keyboards) have drafted Shineth members Sebastian Roos (vocals/bass) and Anders Berlin (drums). Roos is the perfect vocal choice for the band, plus he’s a really great bass player I must say (I was surprised to read he’s also a member of Beatles tribute band Liverpool!). If you’re into bands like Bad Habit, Alien, Shineth, Shiva, H.E.A.T etc, then this is definitely a band you need to check out. I shall admit that some choruses are a bit too poppy for me, where “Give Her A Sign” is borderlining the Eurovision Song Contest, but as a whole it really works well! It’s AOR, melodic, well played, easy accessible and without any forms of thorns, edges or obstacles. The songs just flow through your head without making any bigger fuss. Sounds boring. Well, it actually ain’t. I listen to many different categories of music and I listen in several different ways. I can listen to some records where I really need to focus, where I want to hear every nuance and detail, where I almost want to be an integral part of the music. Then there are albums like this one where I can just enjoy it without having to concentrate, it’s an album I can enjoy while driving, while working, and album that I find myself tapping the rhythm to, humming along. It’s the same as when I’m listening to albums by bands like Survivor, Journey or Swedish fellows Bad Habit, Shineth (maybe not so surprising), Street Talk, Last Autumn’s Dream etc. Speaking of Survivor, the track “Taking Hostage” has some serious Survivor vibes in the intro and chorus. There are a few songs that stick out a bit, such as the heavy “Perfect War”. The production, by former Pole Position drummer Daniel Gese, is well balanced, dynamic and rich. My only complaint would be I’m sort of allergic to drums that sound programmed/triggered where every beat and cymbal sound exactly the same. The track “Perfect War” features a guest solo from Masterplan guitarist Roland Grapow, not that Heikne needs to be relieved of any of his duties as he’s a great guitarist. Highly recommended for fans of classic AOR.

Janne Stark
Label: avenue Of Allies
Year: 2011
Link: http://www.missbehaviour.se/

LINY WOOD - Liny Wood (CD)

I had never heard about Liny Wood (or Linéa Helge), even though I’ve been at her dad’s guitar shop quite a few times, and she’s from a town only an hour away. The first time I saw her name and heard her outstanding vocals was on the new Brian Robertson album Diamonds And Dirt, where she sings on a couple of songs. Ok, I’ll start by saying Liny’s solo material is nowhere near Robertson’s bluesy hard rock, even though he lends a helping hand on three tracks on this disc as well. There are also some helping hands from Grand Illusion/Code’s guitarist Ola Af Trampe, drummer Peer Stappe, who recorded and played on John Norum’s latest solo-album, plus one track was co-written by Ulf “Chris Laney” Larsson. These are however the only hard rock connections on this disc, even though Liny does look very hard rock herself. The music is very versatile from piano based balladry, almost with an ABBA-touch in Jenny, I also hear a lot of Stevie Nicks in some of the material. Liny however has a greater range and much more power in her voice than Stevie, where Stevie on the other hand has a greater personality in hers. I also hear a bit of Alannah Myles here and there, which is also a good thing. There’s also some more modern pop stuff I personally don’t really care for. Where I think Liny really shines, the moments I really really like on this album is the softer and more acoustic stuff, like Mom, My Love and also Ship, where Robertson does some great soloing. Album closer Leaving You Behind is however my favourite. It’s more of a power semi-ballad with a very big powerful and dynamic sound, where her voice really shines and where Robertson again proves he does still have it. How I wish this would instead have been the softest song on the album. I would love to hear Liny just hang it all out in some powerful melodic hard rock. Her voice would fit like a glove, a studded leather glove with a touch of lace. Maybe next time?

Janne Stark
Label: Polar Studios
Year: 2011
Link: http://www.linywood.com/

UNSOLVED - Lost (CD)

There’s quite a few really good modern sounding bands popping out of the Swedish woods these days. One new act to definitely check out is Unsolved. They do have some old Alice In Chains moments going on, but the vocal style is totally different and you don’t hear the traditional style depressed harmonies. It’s melodic and all, but at the same time singer Martin is not really in the poppy/neo-punkish style of bands like Hoobastank or Daughtry. He’s got a great versatile voice, showing a great melodic depth in songs like the ballad “You Are Not The One” and the melodic yet heavy “Stay With Me”, at the same time he can rough it up a bit without ever falling into the current growl/screamo-trap, which I really appreciate. Musically they do have a strong streak of Sevendust meets Shinedown with a touch of Tantric here and there, which is great in my book. They do also throw in the occasional guitar solo, which is nice. I also like the fact that there are great riffs, nice guitar arrangements, mixing clean guitars and crunchy heaviness, and not just a lot of chord strumming which gives the songs a nice texture. The song material is actually really great and strong, the mix is great, and with the right backing I think this band could really make it big!
Janne Stark
Label: Ilumnirec
Yeat: 2011
Country: Sweden
Link: www.ilumnirec.com

BULLSEYE - Count On Me (MCD 4tr)

Ok, when opener Count On Me started I was really surprised the band did a cover of one of my old Montrose favourites Space Station #5, but it soon prooved to be justa stolen riff. Well, the rest of it doesn’t sound like at all. Bullseye deliver straight ahead, no-frills, slightly punkish hard rock. At times I get a vibe of The Bones but not quite as punky and with a singer that sometimes makes me think of Jocke in Sabaton, especially when the accentuated rrrrrrr’s pop out in You See. Back In The Time pulls the tempo back a bit and shows a more melodic side with a bigger and more exciting side of Johan Hallström’s vocal range, plus it’s got a nice hook in the chorus. A hit maybe? Closing track Over The Top almost made me think of Saxon in the intro riff, while the punkish verse took it a totally different route. This is not bad at all, even if it may not be a CD I would listen to every day. The boys do it good, they have a infectious determination and the song material is of high class. This is definitely music that would kick up a dull party several notches.

Janne Stark
Label: private
Country: Sweden
Year: 2010
Link: http://bullseyeworld.com

THE ITCH - Spreading Like Wildfire (CD)

Boy, have I been waiting for this one! Ever since they released their four track CD single I’ve been waiting for the boys to get their stuff together. Now they have, and I love it! I’ve been following guitarist/singer Lukas since his (very) young days in bands like The Booze Brothers and he’s always had a great blues rock vibe to his playing. Even though he went a bit astray with doom/horror rockers Tenebre, he’s now found his home again. This is pure brilliant bluesy hard rock in the vein of bands like The Answer, Electric Mary, Roadstar and actually with a touch of The Hellacopters in their prime in songs like (3). Lukas is not only a great guitar player but also a classy singer. Besides the rockers there’s a really nice bluesy acoustic ballad with a touch of vintage Point Blank. One cool thing is the trade-off solo in the middle. As a contrast the subsequent track (10) rocks it in a true really heavy Zeppelinesque way and a riff that really hits home. This is a pretty diverse album ranging from straight ahead rockers to heavy riffsters and the acoustic interlude. Highly recommended!
Janne Stark

Year: 2011

Label: Rambo Music

Country: Sweden

DARKWATER - Where Stories End (CD)

After having been a big fan of progressive metal for many years with bands like Dream Theater, Symphony X, Mind’s Eye, Sun Caged etc, I kinda lost interest in the genre a couple of years ago. It started feeling a bit like bands were complicated just for the sake of it. I started lacking the melody and groove. Some CDs attracted me, but unfortunately not that many. I’ve slowly started getting back in the prog groove again and Darkwater, who now releases their second effort, is one of the bands that don’t overcomplicate things just because they can. The band also has a very strong singer in Henrik Båth, which sets them apart from some other bands (I’m one of the people who get incredibly tired of James LaBrie in the long run). Darkwater reminds me a bit of Swedish colleagues Andromeda, but where Andromeda took the hard and less melodic route on their latest album, Darkwater have produced a more accessible platter in “Where Stories End”. A lot of things happen in the songs, but it feels like they are there for a reason. The songs are also created for a singer to sing, not just a complex musical pattern where the singer has to go through hell and high water to find where he can fit some vocal melodies into strange brew. Thus this is not just music for musicians, but an album you can enjoy as a regular fan of melodic metal. A great bunch of musicians, all of them, none mentioned none forgotten. Strong and interesting song material, too makes this a really great album indeed. Fredrik Nordström, Studio Fredman, has previously proven his abilities as sound engineer with multiple bands, not forgetting his own creation Dream Evil. He does a mighty fine job here as well, creating a powerful sound landscape with massive guitars, yet not overpowering the keyboards and vocals. Highly recommended. Ok, this album was released in November last year, but it does deserve being reviewed. A good whiskey does not get old.
Janne Stark
Label: Ulterium
Year: 2010
Country: Sweden
Link: http://www.darkwater.se/