Coldspell – A New World Arise (CD)

I was a huge fan of Coldspell when they entered the Swedish hard rock scene with the outstanding debut “Infinite Stargaze” in 2009. “Out From The Cold” from 2011, delivered more of the same, while I was a bit disappointed with “Frozen Paradize” (2013) as it felt a bit generic and didn’t really lift off for me. Now they state that “A New World Arise”, so let’s see what that means. The album kicks off with the powerful up-tempo rocker “Foreveremore” with a kick-ass chorus and I immediately feel hope. “Call Of The Wild” takes it down a notch, and it actually makes me think of Eclipse, which is a good thing. A killer dynamic song with lots of interesting layers. “It Hurts” starts off with a quirky guitar arpeggio which I can’t completely wrap my head around (which is also a cool thing) and then enters into a heavy, crunchy verse and a great catchy chorus. “Miles Away” picks up the tempo again and Michael’s guitar crushes anything in its way. “Signs” takes the album on a different, crushingly heavy, yet very melodic, path. Almost a touch of Zeppelin in the verse with a classic melodic heavy rock chorus. I must say, this album totally demolishes its predecessor! “Love Me Like You Do” opens with some bluesy acoustic riffing and moves into a Dokken style power riff territory. Quite different from anything the band has previously done. This kicks major ass, I must say! I won’t go into each and every track, I will just say – there’s not a bad track on the album! The production is brick heavy, yet dynamic with Niclas’ outstanding vocals crowning this power package! A must!!

Janne Stark

Year: 2017

Label: Escape

Country: Sweden

Peter Martinsson Group – Changes (CD)

Once upon a time, back in 1979-80, guitarist Peter played guitar in underground bands Plebb and Purple Haze, each one with one release to show for (rarities today). In 2012 he was brought back to the musical scene with his outstanding instrumental album “Guitar State Of Mind”, followed by “No Grey” in 2014. Now it’s time for another dose of instrumental high-class guitar playing. Peter Martinsson Group is more about melodic hard rock oriented songs that high speed shredding. “Never Again”, for instance, has an aura of 70s Rainbow hanging over it, while “You Can Dance” crunches out some heavy bluesy riffs which makes me think of Michael Katon. “Ahead Of Time” has a cool 70s feel of Janne Schaffer (think “Halkans Affär” or “Fillins Mignon”). Peter’s tone and feel often give me serious goosebumps! His sweet notes are just there! His melodic feel is outstanding and even though I’m not a huge fan of instrumental albums, I just can’t stop listening to his music! I just love the quirky playfulness of songs like “Happy Happie” or the coolness of “Loosen Up”. He also does a killer version of the traditional folk song “Barkbrödslåten”, quite different from Kebnekajse’s rendition. Highly recommended!

Janne Stark

Label: Plebb

Year: 2017

Country: Sweden

Mathias Holm Klarin – Dream Catch (digital)

To find any traces of Swedish shredder Mathias Holm’s solo material we have to go way back to 1996. That’s when he released his first album “Pictures Of A Dream”. In 2010 he also released an album with Swedish prog metal band Mindsplit (also featuring members from Madison, Jade, Scudiero/Fatal Smile), but since then little has been heard. Until now. "Dream Catch" starts where “Pictures of a Dream” left off, with a collection of melodic, instrumental guitar music. Mathias has matured a bit in his style and playing, and just like guitarists like Joe Satriani, he aims for the song rather than the shred thrill. Way better in my book! Mathias has a great tone and his sound is clear and powerful. The title track is one of my favorites with it’s nice variations and cool tempo. There are of course some Yngwie:esque twiddling here as well, such as in “Green Water” and “Past Reflecion” with their neo-classical orientation. Killer technique, great tone, impeccable playing, but not as interesting to me as something like “Divine Journey”, where Mathias takes us through a lot of different musical landscapes, from fast shredding, to fusionesque parts to oriental influences. All in all a really nice album from an outstanding guitar player!

Janne Stark

Label: Lion Music

Year: 2017

Country: Sweden