H.E.A.T ‘II’, perfection is thy name.

Artists, bands, labels, managers, songwriters….listen up, pay attention and understand - this is how it’s done.

H.E.A.T have thrown off the experimentations of Into The Great Unknown (which I still think was great in its own way), ditched long-time producer Tobias Lindell and gone all in-house for their remarkable 6th album.

The result is H.E.A.T ‘II’, an album that doesn’t just politely knock on your door, rather it sees the band roll up in a 49-ton bulldozer, run over your lawn, crash through the door and bulldoze right through your house and out the other side.

This is a no holes barred, take no prisoners, earth shattering slice of classic melodic hard rock, where every single element is simply perfect. And every element helps make the other aspects of the album sound even better.

Crash drums like an absolute madman, his playing not only more powerful and bombastic than ever, but it’s also more technical and truly ear shattering.
Dave shreds harder and faster than ever before, making this the band’s heaviest album to date. Some of the guitar solos are mind-blowing.
Jona brings an equal dose of keyboards, helping balance the aggression with melody and adding several extra layers of ear candy.
Jimmy takes on his role with his usual dominant presence, grooving right alongside Crash as Scandinavia’s tightest rhythm section.
And what can I say about Erik? We already know he’s an alien from a galaxy far far away, where freakish lung capacity and megaphone vocals are commonplace, but here on earth he stands alone as the finest rock vocalist anywhere. And here he screams, wails, harmonizes and produces angelic tones that every other singer should strive for.

It’s simply a stunning performance by Erik and the whole band.

Additional credit must go to the guys for the production and mix. If anything, it is even better than ever, they clearly learned a lot from their time in the studio and this record reflects that. Absolutely flawless.

4 songs have been previewed in full, each one giving a solid indication of the rest of the album. There’s 11 ass-kicking tracks, the only ballad being Nothing To Say – a ballad so good it also kicks your ass. 11 tracks and 11 different vibes. Its very cool. It’s edgy, it’s menacing, it’s anthemic and melodic and it’s fresh.

Of my observations on the album, it is worth noting that the songs all that have influences from the past, but also strike a clear new path forward.
The guys have used some different chorus styles and structures in places and while some of the choruses may not match the anthemic heights of Living On The Run or Point Of No Return, the songs actually deliver the knockout hooks in the verse or post-chorus bridge. It makes for a really interesting learning curve for the album, as the chorus is normally the most obvious point of familiarity when first getting to know any record.

Highlights are almost impossible to spotlight as not matter what song you play last is the one stuck in your head afterwards.
I do have a particular love for the hard edged fast moving Dangerous Ground; the classic Heat sound of Come Clean; the menacing We Are Gods and its brilliant post-chorus hook; the punchy multi-hook Adrenaline (with a nod to Eclipse’s Runaway in the chorus) and Heaven Must Have Won An Angel, which has a strong Brother Firetribe vibe to it. But that said, I now feel mean for not mentioning other songs. They’re all brilliant.

This review is way longer than it needed to be. We’ll cut to the bottom line.
It’s perfect. The easiest 100 I’ve ever given. Take a bow guys.

In my reviews-absence there has been some superb releases, one of which is the mighty Harem Scarem and their 15th studio release (WTF!) Change The World.

Once again, I was honoured to work with the guys sequencing the album and think it has a pretty tasty flow. As I’ve been with the band since the very week of their debut album, its not hard to appreciate my love for these guys and how they are quite possibly, the most consistent band of the last 30 years.

This album is no exception. It’s a flip of the coin as to whether I prefer this to the “perfect” predecessor, the acclaimed ‘United’ release. I think I will have to make this another perfect album as there are no obvious flaws – it sounds a million bucks, is drenched in harmonies and mighty choruses and the three-play of Aftershock, Searching For Meaning and The Death Of Me is about as good as it gets anywhere, from anyone.

This is what melodic rock is all about.

H.E.A.T are back to prove they are the absolute gold standard when it comes to delivering instantly catchy, well-written melodic hard rock.

They’re also back with original singer Kenny Leckremo following the sad departure of mega-star vocalist Erik Gronwall who helmed the last 4 studio albums. The bad news was kept to a minimum with the announcement Kenny would return to add to his own legacy with the band, having fronted the first two records. I love it how these guys seem to manage to keep any line-up changes ‘within the family’.

So where does H.E.A.T go for their seventh studio outing? Back to the more AOR sound of the first two records or more commercial like Into The Great Unknown? Or do they keep the momentum of the cracking pace of the last album HEAT 2 and the harder hitting style of the ‘Erik years’?

While Kenny may bring a slightly different vocal style to the party, the songwriting and direction on ‘Force Majeure’ is very much a continuation of the last album and the ‘Address The Nation’/’Tearing Down The Walls’ style of the band. So this is basically H.E.A.T 3 – or H.E.A.T 2 Kenny-style. The same urgent tempo, the same big production and the same big melodies are all over this record.

It is nothing short of classic H.E.A.T through and through.

The format and structure of previous albums is also largely adhered to, with songs here reminding me of the band’s best moments on songs such as Point Of No Return, Breaking The Silence, It’s All About Tonight and Living On The Run.

Harder To Breathe dips into ‘Into The Great Unknown’ territory, but for the rest of the album I’m hearing ‘H.E.A.T 2’ meets ‘Address The Nation’.

Once again, it is killer song after killer song – this band can do (and has done) no wrong.

The three singles Back To The Rhythm, Nationwide and Hollywood all show what the band are capable of, but there’s another 8 classic rockers to look forward to.

Tainted Blood, Not For Sale, Hold Your Fire and Wings of An Aeroplane all deliver and Demon Eyes is the heaviest thing I’ve ever heard Kenny sing.

Only the dramatic and heavy ballad One Of Us slows the pace of the album at all, providing another big highlight. The big anthemic Paramount is something a little different for the guys but keeps in the spirit of the H.E.A.T sound.

With no surprise to any follower of the band, they have proved yet again, they are a magnificent outfit and haven’t let the change of vocalist slow them down in any way. Kenny sings his absolute heart out on this record – probably the best I’ve ever heard his voice.

11 new fantastic tracks to add to the band’s already magnificent career. The definition of force majeure is “irresistible compulsion or superior strength…” Yes, H.E.A.T are an indeed an irresistible compulsion with superior strength!