H.E.A.T
“INTO THE GREAT UNKNOWN”
Album Review By Guest Reviewer Arli Lane
9/10
When I heard that H.E.A.T would be coming out with a new album this year, I hounded the hubby to let me review it. I discovered the wonder that is H.E.A.T at Hammerfest in 2015, as they were part of the Hard Rock Hell line-up. After giving them a quick listen to beforehand, I thought I would give them a go. From the first song, I was hooked and I was a fan. As any fan of H.E.A.T can attest to, their music cannot merely be listened to. It is an experience! From the melodies and harmonies to the strong vocals of Erik and equally strong musical talents of Dave, Jimmy, Jona, and Crush, they are a force to reckon with. Their stage presence and showmanship is something that has been long forgotten by many main stream bands and groups. I come at this review not only as a fan, but as someone that appreciates the art that has gone into their craftmanship. As a singer, vocal coach, Choir Director, writer, and poet; I truly love the intricate layers of H.E.A.T. Layers that include melodies and harmonies woven throughout, Erik’s complex octave range, strong and beautiful guitar and bass work, rising beats with fantastic tone and tempo, and beautifully written lyrics of poetry. This band is fantastic and I love them…. But enough gushy fan girl vomit, on with the review!
The first thing that strikes me with “Into the Great Unknown” is the album artwork. As a massive Sci-Fi fan, I love the beautiful sceneries played out through the album booklet. There is a beauty shown with the lone bard portrayed on the front and inside page, the band being shown in suspended stasis, the colourful constellations, and the wrecked spaceship depicted on the final page. The second thing I discover is LYRICS!!! Woohoo! This I am excited about as it is very rare to have lyrics provided with an album nowadays. While a great deal of work goes into musical composition, an equal amount of time is given to put pen to paper and develop lyrics to match. I can tell the band wants to tell a story and I am excited to delve in.
The first half of the album opens with “Bastard of Society”. Opening in typical H.E.A.T fashion, it produces a rally cry with a series of oh-oh-oh’s penetrating the listeners ears. It has a fantastic tempo and tone, with strong vocals and strong riffs. It quickly becomes one of my favourites of the album. “Redefined” has some interesting electronic undertones. It is a song very reminiscent of the sounds and music popularised in Sci-Fi movies of the 80’s and 90’s. As the song brings many visual pictures to my mind, I find it an easy and pleasant listen. “Shit City” stands alone, even if by name only. It is a great crowd singing and chanting song, which includes a great riff for some healthy head banging. “Time on Our Side” opens with a muffled, energetic beat. I instantly fall in love with this song as it highlights Erik’s vocal range and octave jumps. The song continues to build with an expectation of a strong finish. It doesn’t disappoint with his final lift in the song. (fan girl sigh). The first half of the album finishes with “Best Of the Broken”. This song is another good chanting, fist pumping crowd pleaser. It has more electronic play throughout it, which adds to its complexity and beauty.
The second half of the album starts with “Eye Of the Storm”. It is another demonstration of Erik’s fantastic vocal range. Reaching into three octaves, it’s a strong love ballad with good riffs, melodic guitars, and steady beats. “Blind Leads the Blind” is the only real disappointment of the album. I’m unsure where the song was going, as it sounded as though they meshed 2 separate songs together. There are strong drums and percussions weaved into the fabric of the song, while providing pretty impressive guitar techniques. Regardless of the many levels of talent portrayed in it, I feel it fell flat. Following this disappointment, I was hit with the masterpiece that is “We Rule”. This song is truly a poetic work of art and leads me to believe the song was written as a love poem set to music. It has beautiful vocal strength and resonance. The strong music and melodies match Erik’s vocals beautifully, building to a fantastic end. (Internal fan girl: Erik please sing this to me by a fire). This is followed by “Do You Want It?”. After all that, yes please! The album finishes with the album title track “Into the Great Unknown”. It is full of strong and deep bass tones. The guitars continue to build the song from strength to strength. This is all being supported by some fantastic beats and percussions. There are loads of little musical snippets thrown in throughout, which just adds to my antici……..pation. The song ends on a high, with the sound of a rocket resonating in your ears. It brings to life the album front artwork, and I can visualise the lone bard riding on a comet into the event horizon. Wow, what a rush!
“Into the Great Unknown” is not just a musical journey, but is instead an experience. An amazing experience of struggle, resistance, resilience, survival, hope and love. It ultimately immerses you into another world and you are swept away from its beauty and complexity. Bravo boys! I’ll ride your rocket ship any day! All aboard and enjoy the ride “Into the Great Unknown”.
“Into The Great Unknown” will be released on Friday 22 September 2017 via earMUSIC.
TRACKLIST
Bastard Of Society
Redefined
Shit City
Time On Our Side
Best Of The Broken
Eye Of The Storm
Blind Leads The Blind
We Rule
Do You Want It?
Into The Great Unknown
H.E.A.T
Guitar: Sky Davis (aka Dave Dalone)
Bass: Jimmy Jay
Keyboard: Jona Tee
Drums and Percussion: Crush
Vocals: Erik Gronwall
H.E.A.T – ONLINE
https://www.heatsweden.com
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