Album Review: H.E.A.T - H.E.A.T II

01. Rock Your Body

02. Dangerous Ground
03. Come Clean
04. Victory
05. We Are Gods
06. Adrenaline
07. One By One
08. Nothing To Say
09. Heaven Must Have Won A
10. Under The Gun
11. Rise

When it comes to young bands sounding like they were from the 80's, no-one does it better than H.E.A.T. Their last album Into The Great Unknown (read my review here) was a bit of a departure for them, as it was overall a bit more experimental. This time, they've gone back to their roots, hence the title H.E.A.T II, and have released some full-on Glam/Sleaze/Hard Rock.

If you are familiar with the band, I have no doubt that you know exactly what you're going to get from this record before you've even hit the play button. H.E.A.T have always been consistently excellent, even with the slightly controversial blip that was their last album. H.E.A.T II is the band at their very best, with no fillers whatsoever.

Although they're not doing anything original, the record doesn't sound 'retro' due to a crystal clear, modern production. Also, the sheer quality of the musicianship including Erik Grönwall's insanely powerful ear candy voice, gives them a contemporary and fresh feel. They're clearly A-listers in this genre too, and where many bands sound like dull old men, H.E.A.T make this style of music sound youthful and exciting again.

If I had to choose favourites, I'd go for Dangerous Ground, which is possibly the most awesome song they've ever released, Come Clean, Rock Your Body, and One By One.