Sweden delivers yet another rock band in the form of 220 Volt. But these guys aren’t new – they’re back from the 80s, with their first proper studio album since 1997.
It doesn’t happen often, but this is one band that skipped past me in the heyday, so more or less, despite reported changes to their sound, I’m taking them on as a new listener.
Anders Engberg (ex-Therion ex-Lions Share), who joined this group on late 2012, is the new voice of the band, so with a fresh voice it really is a new start for the band.
Founding members Thomas Drevin and Mats Karlsson handle the guitars and drummer Peter Hermansson complete the line-up.
What I’m hearing is pretty typical Scandi-styled melodic hard rock. I’ve spun it several times and I’m liking the vocals, which sound a little like the great Matti Alfonzetti or Goran Edman, but otherwise I’m struggling with the songs somewhat.
Production is ok, it’s not a sharp or as crisp as it should be and compared to some other recent releases. The drum and cymbal sound in particular is weak.
Coupled with some songs that don’t quite do it for me and a sound I’ve heard before, I rate this as a decent release that fans of the band should enjoy, but I’m not seeing huge crossover potential.
This is a pretty hard rocking release though. There are times where the band takes it up a notch and that’s when I think they sound at their best – tracks like Alive, Through The Wastelands and System Overload.
Plus the more melodic Take A Good Look and Stranded.
Overall, not bad, but not a stand out for me in this always crowded market. I expect longtime fans will enjoy and newcomers to the European hard rock scene might also find something worthy here.
