|
Artist: Grand Illusion |
|
|
In
2010 we saw the return after six years of Grand Illusion and the
stunning album 'Brand New World', now one year later, the band of Anders
Rydholm (bass, keys, guitar), Per Svensson (vocals), Peter Sundell (vocals)
and Greg Bissonette (drums), return with their next installment ‘Prince
Of Paupers’. The
band bring their own brand of Melodic Rock to the fray with this new
album and again an album that is all killer no filler. Also coming along
for the ride this time are Steve Lukather, Jay Graydon and Time Pearce, who add
their collective talents to what is a great Melodic /Hard Rock opus. From
the off you know this album is going to be something special, as things
get underway with ‘Gates Of Fire’ and takes up where 'Brand New World'
left off, with soaring melodies, immense keyboards and of course, a
stunning vocal presence. This is what modern Melodic Rock is all about. After
the epic opener it’s straight up West Coast AOR with ‘Better Believe
It’, before picking up the tempo a little more with the excellent title
track ‘Prince Of Paupers’. A track that just oozes class from the
rockin’ guitars to the infectious back beat, right down to the
tremendous vocals, this one ticks all the right boxes and again takes
Melodic Rock to dizzy new heights. This
superb release continues with its big choral elements with the stunning
‘So Faraway’, before bringing the rock back down once more with the
keyboard infused rocker ‘St Teresa’s Love’, before mixing both
elements with ‘Through This War’ and the romping splendour of ‘Eyes Of Ice’, which is one of the highlights of the album for me. We’re
more than half way through the album and things just keeping getting
better as each track unfolds to reveal another stunning slice of melody
rich rock, with the likes of ‘Gone’, a heady bass driven rocker and
the excellent ballad ‘Believe In Miracles’, with some excellent
soaring guitar licks woven in-between some of the best vocals of the
entire album. The
rock comes roaring back with the outstanding ‘On And On’ and
‘Under The Wire’, before this superb album closes with the
semi-acoustic grandeur of ‘Winds Of Change’, which closes off another
stunning release in a year that has brought forth some great releases,
this one certainly ranks up there with the best of the year. |
|
| Tracklisting:
1.
Gates Of Fire |
|
|
All content copyright of The Mayfair Mall Zine unless otherwise stated. |
|