As the extended title indicates, this album is a reworked version of the Scandi supergroup's 2007 album release, itself a follow up to the headline grabbing debut,
'Metal Will Stand Tall'.
The 'New Edition' tag has been brought about through the addition of 2 new tracks, most notably '
Raise The Banner', Sweden's anthem for the 2008 Olympics.
Now, if there's anything that melodic rock bands can claim as their chosen subject, their area of expertise, and even for some, their raison d'etre, it's the rock anthem.
Let's define "rock anthem".
It needs to have an inviting, instantly memorable hook. The chorus needs to be of the fist-in-the-air, all-join-in variety, and it helps if the lyrics are celebratory, maybe even triumphant.
'
Raise The Banner' possesses all of the above plus a few, non essential, but very-nice-to-have qualities.
The other new track is '
Line Of Fire' - the band's candidate to represent Sweden in the (whisper it) 2007 European Song Contest. It didn't make it. Huge sighs of relief. It's the Euro pantomime's loss and
'Sweet Trade's gain.
Anyone who's heard the original '
Sweet Trade' will know that it's a winning, fertile marriage of cleverly crafted melodic rock and radio friendly, hook heavy boyband pop.
Producers Johan Lyander and Matti
Alfonzetti deserve the major part of the credit here. They've cut and tailored the songs to suit a receptive audience, one that's suffering from contemporary metal fatigue, but one that wants its pop to have poise, purpose and bite.
'Streets Of Fire', '
Flesh & Blood' and '
Band Of Brothers' are all structurally tight and lyrically deft, their solid rock framework fleshed out by soaring harmonies and pulse quickening hooks.
'Walk The Line' and '
Without You' add a welcome level of subtlety and sophistication, creating a grown up resonance that's so blatantly and disappointingly absent from much of today's melodic rock.
'
Thunderball' and '
Kiss Goodbye' are melodic rock monsters, striding across the album's musical rock landscape like a shaggy haired, axe shredding colossus.
Elsewhere, the urgent, compelling, '
Heaven's Closing In', the marvellous ballad
'Shine' and the immediate, poptastic
'Seven Seas' maintain that same high level of songwriting, performance and production.
'Sweet Trade' already was an irresistible album, now it's an absolutely essential component of the 21
st century melodic rock machine.
Written by
Brian Saturday, August 16, 2008
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