ARCTIC RAIN
“Unity”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Arctic Rain are a melodic rock band from Sweden formed in 2018, releasing their debut album ‘The One’ in 2020, and sophomore album ‘Unity’ in 2023.

Well now – what can you say about Sweden? Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman, Bjorn Borg, IKEA, Volvo, meatballs, Marabou and Cloetta chocolate, pop band ABBA, rock band Europe, metal band Bathory, and a whole lot more too! Sweden have been producing incredible pop, rock, and metal bands for over forty years – with Arctic Rain a new name to add to the list. The five piece outfit blend melodic rock with AOR, and stir in elements of hard rock to give their music a punchy edge! ‘Unity’ (the album) is eleven songs across a heavy hitting fifty four minutes – ‘One World’ launching the album in a skywards direction! Melding the best qualities of AOR with hard rock, Arctic Rain sit ‘One World’ perfectly between the two styles, punching hard and kicking harder. An insanely infectious and highly melodic start to the album, the title song ‘Unity’ moves things up a gear – striding with the air of confidence of a song that knows it’s irresistible to the rockers of the world. And boy is it – ‘Unity’ (the song) an immediate like. And even at this early stage, a favourite already!

And with an injection of energy and a rise in tempo, the band trot on with the heaviest hitting song heard so far, ‘Fire In My Eyes’ a smile inducing romp that is guaranteed to lift anyone’s mood. Not quite a party anthem, but ‘Fire In My Eyes’ will definitely get the party started! With tempo and energy levels remaining high, Arctic Rain fairly romp on with ‘Peace Of Mind’, cutting a feisty path through the airways – widening the already wide smiles on the faces of every listener everywhere. The blend of AOR and melodic rock with hard rock is exquisite, the band whipping up a firestorm of frenzied fan activity with regards to head nodding and foot tapping. Which is in absolutely no danger of stopping either – especially as the band move up a division to hit harder with ‘Laughing In The Rain’. Arctic Rain reaching the half way point of the album in glorious style – every song so far oozing energy and oomph in abundance.

At over six minutes in length, ‘Believe’ is the longest song on offer – and enters ballad country with a bang! So get your lighters out, hold them high and sway from side to side as Arctic Rain sidle on by – the band providing a timely breather from all the energetic punch felt so far. And almost like it never went away – it’s back! ‘Out Of Time’ punching as hard as anything else on offer (except maybe the ballad). The band have a lot to live up to – not just the Swedish legacy, but the worldwide one too! And I reckon they’ve shown they’re up for the fight – the album stacked with energy, oomph, and plenty of variation to keep listeners hooked. I know I am! And in the shape of ‘Kings Of The Radio’, the band have got a cracking tune to play while driving – perhaps I should have just said driving anthem! Either way, this is a song to play loud on a countryside drive during the summer with the windows rolled down. Huh – rolled down! Youngsters these days ain’t gonna know what I mean – it’s all electric nowadays!

And with energy levels at an all time high, ‘When We Were Young’ is footloose and fancy free as it skips forth, planting smiles on anyone who’s not already smiling. And I can’t believe there’s too many – for ‘Unity’ (the album) has a cracking smile inducing aura that’s been filling the air since the album began. ‘Time For A Miracle’ is a mellower song that threatens to step over the border into ballad country once more, but retains a heaviness that keeps it from doing so. Maybe “soft rock” is the correct term to use to describe ‘Time For A Miracle’, the band continuing their jovial jaunt around the rock genre. And in what seems like no time at all, we arrive at the final song! Just where did the time go? Into history that’s where – but the future is what it’s all about right now, Arctic Rain carving out a path to follow – ending the album with the melodic soft rocker ‘The Road Goes On’. And after all the energy of the album up to this point, ‘The Road Goes On’ acts as a warm down after a vigorous work-out.

Overall, a hard rocking album of various rock styles, ‘Unity’ is a happy album planting smiles on the faces of listeners everywhere.

TRACKLIST

One World
Unity
Fire In My Eyes
Peace Of Mind
Laughing In The Rain
Believe
Out Of Time
Kings Of The Radio
When We Were Young
Time For A Miracle
The Road Goes On

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