Free Spirit from
Finland sounds like they have just taken
up the sound of Brother Firetribe with
Def Leppard and H.E.A.T in a blend. The
glorious 80s in every tune and note and they do not even try to
invent something new, rather focus on
their strengths and hits with their
second album "All the Shades of
Darkened Light ". Old rock heads like
me and fans of the magic 80s hard
rock with catchy melodies and
brilliant vocal performances will play
album this over and over again this
summer.
Although the songs could be a much
heavier and played with a stronger
force, AOR fans will certainly not be disturbed
by the choruses. The
songs are catchy and well thought out
and the hit potential is big. The
final result is an album with love for
brilliant guitar hooks and catchy
choruses. The band is: Sami Alho
(vocals), Vesa Yli- Mäenpää (guitars), Marko Haapamäki (guitars), Sami
Hämäläinen (bass), Pasi Koivumäki
(drums) and Timo Alho (keyboards).
The opener "Nights of Paradise" is a
strong first song with blessed vocals
and very melodic rhythms. With outstanding
keyboard performance, big riffs and even bigger
choruses; the chorus alone is worth wet dreams.
With giant rhythm rolls "Living
Tattoo" kicks in and with clear vibrato
vocals, we are dealing with an
extraordinary disc. The top track is
"Hysteria", where the Finns combine all
the definitions of 80 melodic rock.
After such a strong intro, we still have
more great songs with the following
"Ever Come True", "The Dew of the
Rose" and the calmer "Carry On".
"Fever" is a crispy and easy to like
song with classic riffs and easy going
moods. With these 11 songs
"All the Shades of Darkened Light" is an
excellent and enjoyable journey. True
love for the 80s hard rock and very
high quality standard in the songs
forces me to give them a higher rating
than I first thought.
Free Spirit makes absolutely nothing
new or deliver something
earth-shaking, but established bands
like H.E.A.T or Brother Firetribe - to
their fans, I count myself - have to
check this band out.
Thanks for this
nice melodic rock album. My thumbs are
up!!
