Artist: Jet Trail
   Title: Edge Of Existence
   Label: Escape Music

One thing that is in short supply these days is good female fronted Melodic/Hard Rock bands, but fear not, the trend is about to be reversed with Swedish band Jet Trail led by Carolina Lindwall.  Joining her are Jon Stavert on guitar, Christian Sundell on drums and Johan Holst on bass, together they are about to break things wide open with their fantastic debut album ‘Edge of Existence’.

The album gets under way as all albums should with a real rocker in the form of ‘War Zone’.  When I heard this album for the first time I was hooked from this point on, not only with Lindwall’s powerful vocals, but also the fantastic raw aggressive guitar work of Stavert which open the track.  This track ticks all the right boxes for me, it's meaty, features some great vocals, some great guitars, and a thumping rhythm section that really rocks.

After the opener the album could have ended there for me but things just keep getting better as the album progresses with that hard rock edge.  ‘Killing Ghosts’ is next, this carries on where 'War Zone' left off with Stavert shining once more and what can I say about Lindwall’s vocals, they remind me of a mix between Pat Benatar and Stevie Lange, but also has its own quality that makes it ideal for this type of hard rock.

Next up is another fantastic piece of guitar fuelled Hard Rock ‘Can You Hear Me Calling’, before things slow down with the ballad ‘Gorham’s Cave’ and although I describe it as a ballad, it still retains that rock edge of the previous tracks mainly due to the guitars of Stavert and the passionate vocals of Lindwall.

It’s back to the rockier side of the band with the excellent ‘Dark Night’ one of the many highlights of this album.  The hard rock just keep on coming with the soaring ‘Holy Ground’ which hints at Power Metal with Stavert’s excellent guitars and the haunting vibe Lindwall puts into the vocals on this one.

The pace really picks up pace with the show stopping ‘Never Say Never’ a real head down rock track if ever there was one as the rhythm section of Sundell and Holst really make their mark on this one.

The thumping rhythm section also features highly on the next one ‘Now Yo!’ a thumping rock track where Lindwall puts a heavier spin on the vocals and Stavert rips it once more.

The band take it down a notch or two with ‘Wanted’ another smouldering ballad that once again shows that Lindwall can bring it down as well as power through the songs, this matched with some strong guitar work for Stavert really makes this a top notch power ballad.

But it’s the really rockier side of the band that really does it for me as things continue with the raw energy of ‘The Unknown’ and the fast paced rocker ‘The Story Of Marie De France’.

Things do slow down again with the haunting tones of ‘Snowbirds’, this one features some moving Spanish guitar work with just a hint of cello that gives it that atmospheric feel.

The album is rounded off with the bonus track ‘Why’, another more gentle refrain that ends a very fine debut from a band that are destined to go a long way and one that has definitely left their mark on me.

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