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What’s the 4-1-1?
The reunited Swedish rockers are back with their 5th studio album,
bringing the classic “pop rock” sound full circle.
Genre
Melodic rock / hard rock / pop-rock
The Good
Before I was a heavy metal maniac, I was a Top 40 kind of guy. When I say Top
40, I mean back in the 1980’s when the Top 40 chart represented a cross
section of many musical genres. One of my favorite groups then (and now as
well) was Survivor. To me, they were the preeminent “pop rock” band.
While Alien definitely stands on their own, I found that while listening to
Dark
Eyes that I was reminded of Survivor repeatedly. Classy melodic rockers, power
ballads that incorporated the “power” not just the “ballad,” and
big bold choruses.
The title track opens the album, and it’s a decent rocker, but as you get
deeper into the album it gets even better. The song “Fallen Eagle” is
a pretty rocking track, but the guitar solo is what really made me take notice.
The ballads “Oh Sarah” and “Sherylee” are reminiscent
of the classic 80’s ballads. Instead of being songs that grate on my nerves
as a lot of ballads have been doing lately, these are actually pretty good.
The standout tracks for me would be “Wild One” and “Are You
Ready.” Each song features a harder edged very guitar oriented sound.
The Bad
Not too much to complain about here. While I liked the guitar work in the song “Riding
With The Wind,” I didn’t care much for the song overall. The same
could be said for “Lethal Woman.”
The Verdict
I don’t know why it took so long for Jim Jidhed and Tony Borg to find
their way back to each other as songwriting partners, but I am actually glad
they did. They have a certain vibe in the 11 songs on this album that shines
bright and clear.
This is a surprisingly good album that has the best of the 80’s melodic
rock sound, yet has a modern day feel so it doesn’t come across as dated.
Did You Know?
Dark Eyes is the first album to feature Jim Jidhed’s vocals since the band’s
self-titled debut album in 1987. The reunion between Jidhed and guitarist Tony
Borg got started when they met up with each other in Gothenburg Sweden in early
2004.
The band covered the Bee Gee’s song “Only One Woman” in 1988
and their version spent 6 weeks at #1 on the Swedish charts.
Rating:  out
of 5
-- Jay Roberts
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ALIEN
