01. Bastard Of Society
02. Redefined
03. Shit City
04. Time On Our Side
05. Best Of The Broken
06. Eye Of The Storm
07. Blind Leads The Blind
08. We Rule
09. Do You Want It
10. Into The Great Unknown
Sweden keep churning out amazing Hard Rock bands that sound like they belong on California's Sunset Strip in 1985. H.E.A.T is one of those bands, and have become major players in that scene over the last few years, with a succession of first class albums.
Before I got round to giving Into The Great Unknown a proper listen, I noticed a bit of a backlash online, where some fans had been quite critical of the band's 'new direction'. They've always had a Hard Rock meets AOR thing going on, with a big dash of Sleaze in their music. To my ears, they were like a mix of early Bon Jovi, late 80's Whitesnake and Tyketto.
I think it's safe to say that their 'scene' isn't the most open minded. H.E.A.T's new album has all the qualities of it's predecessor's, but has less of the Hard Rock, and more contemporary ballads. The latter are some of their best tracks to date, and have an epic sound that reminds me a little of 30 Seconds To Mars, but without straying too far from their trademark 80's sound. Time On Our Side is a great example of this, as is my personal favourite Redefined. There are still full on Rock songs present, most notably the opener Bastard Of Society, but the overall AOR feel of the album gives this release a greater depth and maturity than some of their previous albums.
I really enjoyed Into The Great Unknown. Deviating from the expected is always a brave move for a band, and H.E.A.T have done it well. The song writing, musicianship, and production are absolutely outstanding, and while this may not be the album some fans were hoping for, it's certainly one that I think will be more appreciated over time.
No comments
Post a Comment