|
Artist: Stratosphere |
|
|
Well
2010 is almost at a close and the rock n' roll train keeps rolling with
no end to the quality albums coming our way. Yes there have been
some lemons, but you can't make lemonade without a few lemons. One
album that definitely has a sweet taste is new Scandinavian sensations
Stratosphere’s debut release ‘Fire Flight’. As a
fan of Goran Edman’s vocals I was looking forward to giving this one a
spin to see if like the rest of the bands and projects he’s been
involved with this one floats my boat, and believe me this doesn’t
disappoint in the least. The band itself is the brainchild of
keyboard maestro Jeppe Lund, who along with Edman is joined by Jonas
Larsen on guitars, Jim McCarty on drums and Anders Borre Mathiesen on
bass, together they have put together and album which mixes all the best
traits of Symphonic, Progressive and Melodic Rock in one superb package. The
album gets off to a great start with ‘Russian Summer’ and straight
off I knew this album was going to something I’d like, as the thumping
bass lines got this one underway, and when Edman unleashes his majestic
vocals I was hooked. To add to my listening pleasure Larsen and
Lund exchange licks in some mad cat and mouse game, each one bringing in
the big guns from the off. The
album continues it magnificent path with the excellent ‘The Battle
Within’, with an air of classic Rainbow about this one, then it's all
change with the ballad ‘Enemy Of My Soul’. This is where Edman
shows his great vocal might. Anyone can scream and shout but to
sing a ballad with a passion like he does on this one, separates a good
vocalist from the great and Edman is sure the latter on this one. The
tempo is picked up once more with the excellent ‘Street Of Moscow’,
again keyboards and guitars in to forefront for this one, but where Lund
and Larsen really show their credentials is on the instrumentals on the
album and the first of these great overtures is ‘Rendezvous’, a
soaring melody rich opus that really stands out as one of the tracks of
the album for me. It's
back to the mike for Edman on the simply epic ‘Shining Star’, a real
touch of class this is where Melodic and Symphonic Rock are strange
bedfellows but it works magnificently. It’s
Melodic Rock all the way with ‘China Girl’, this time Larsen throws
out the big chunky riff like confetti, then it's back to the ballads
with ‘Princess Of The Night’ before picking it up once more with
‘VIP’. A real top notch rocker that just rampages by like an
lick driven express train. This
stunning debut closes with the last of the instrumentals and title track
‘Fire Flight’, again Lund and Larsen exchange keyboard and guitar
parts in an epic battle with only one winner the listener. As
debut releases go this is just superb and again highlights the quality
of musicianship around in the Scandinavian quarter, a real barnstormer
of an album there is no other way of putting it. |
|
|
Tracklisting: 1. Russian summer |
|
|
All content copyright of The Mayfair Mall Zine unless otherwise stated. |
|