Power of Metal.dk Review

The Poodles
Tour de Force
Rating
Style: Hard Rock
Release date: 17 May, 2013
Playing time: 53:12
 


The Poodles from Sweden is one of these bands that always deliver high quality hard rock. Samuel Jakobsson is born with one of the best hard rock voices in the genre. He was a drummer in the amazing band Talisman before he took over the microphone-stand in The Poodles. Where he managed to contribute and create a story of success that just seems to continue.

Their purebred melodic hard rock does not surprise me anymore. Nowadays, I expect that they will deliver a disc with ultraclean and powerful vocal performance and charming guitars in entertaining melodies that are very catchy. Half-way into the album, all my eventual doubts are totally vanished. This is one of their strongest albums, if not their absolute most complete disc ever.

'Tour de Force' has several songs that sounds both tougher and rougher than on previous productions. Meanwhile the radio-friendly rock songs that should appeal the faithful Poodle fans are of course also represented. 'Tour de Force' contains hard, powerful, technical metal songs and emotional, beautiful melodic rock ballads and they are all packed in a top-notch production.

This is their seventh studio album and they continue to walk into a more mature and heavy hard rock. It feels like they have found a stability and harmony in the band, which feels straight through all thirteen tracks. It swings of joy and it is quivering of rock harmonies.

The bonus track is the official Swedish team song for the 2013 World Championships of Ice Hockey, "En För Alla Alla För En"!

Top tracks; 'Shut Up', 'Happily Ever After', 'Kings & Fools', 'Going Down' and 'Now Is the Time'

My personal experience when I've seen The Poodles on stage is that they are a very entertaining and colourful live band and I hope that I'll have a opportunity to see them again
soon.

A very nice piece of work and a given purchase if you are a true hard rock fan...

Line up:
Jakob Samuel - Vocals
Christian Lundqvist - Drums
Pontus Egberg - Bass
Henrik Bergqvist - Guitar  


Tracklist
01. Misery Loves Company
02.
Shut Up!
03.
Happily Ever After
04.
Viva Democracy
05.
Going Down
06.
Leaving The Past To Pass
07.
40 Days And 40 Nights
08.
Kings & Fools
09.
Miracle
10.
Godspeed
11. Now Is The Time
12. Only Just Begun
13. En För Alla För En
Label: Frontiers Records
Distribution: Target (Denmark)
Artwork rating: 89/100
Reviewed by: Patrik Skoglund
Date: 4 May, 2013
Website: www.poodles.se Info - W E T - Rise Up