ONE DESIRE
“MIDNIGHT EMPIRE”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

One Desire are a melodic rock band from Finland formed in 2012, releasing their self titled debut album in 2017. Featuring a sound that combines the classic rock sound of bands such as Journey and Def Leppard, One Desire appeared at the Frontiers Rock Festival IV in Italy, in March 2017. The bands second album ‘Midnight Empire’, was released in 2020.

Finnish hard rockers One Desire have returned with a bang, delivering a second helping of heavy, yet highly melodic rock. ‘Midnight Empire’ is some of the heaviest AOR you’re ever likely to hear, all kicking off with the six minutes plus opener ‘Shadowman’. To open an album with such a long song is a bold, and brave move. Album openers have to immediately grab the listeners attention and hook them in to want to listen to more, which is why most songs that open albums are fairly short and emphatic. ‘Shadowman’ proves that it’s not always the length that matters, the feel and quality matters just as much – with hard hitting AOR, flavour of the moment. Foot tappingly addictive and head noddingly infectious, One Desire have got my attention with their lengthy opener…and then hit me hard in the head with ‘After You’re Gone’. Heavy rocking and as catchy as hell, ‘After You’re Gone’ is a “party starting” anthem, a smile inducing moment of passion, a rock song that will appeal to fans of not just rock, but AOR, soft rock and also fans of heavy metal…

…as the album thunders on with the heavy hitting classic rock styled ‘Down And Dirty’. Hitting harder than a wrecking ball, ‘Down And Dirty’ toes the line of melodic hard rock immaculately, and will get even the most sombre of parties started. The happy mood inducing vibes coming from One Desire’s sophomore album is off the scale, and I defy you not to be smiling right now… And if you’re not smiling as ‘Godsent Extasy’ lifts off, you’re probably dead! ‘Godsent Extasy’ has a thumping rhythm to die for, and a chorus so catchy you’ll be singing along with out even realising it. ‘Through The Fire’ sees One Desire take the road into ballad territory, keeping a mellow and low key feel as ‘Through The Fire’ ambles on, and just for a moment, the energy levels take a dive as the atmosphere becomes one of lighters held high and swaying bodies. Hard rocking AOR makes an emphatic return in the beefy shape of ‘Heroes’, with a cracking chorus so infectious, heads will nod and feet will tap without you even realising it. ‘Heroes’ is a song that can sum up the One Desire sound…

…melodic and highly catchy hard rock. Moving swiftly into soft rock territory, ‘Rio’ is a swaggering rock power ballad – kind of. Imagine a ballad too heavy for lighters, too heavy for swaying from side to side, but not heavy enough for head nodding or foot tapping, and right there, you will find ‘Rio’. Oh man, this is melodic AOR/hard rock straight outta the top drawer. Such variation on offer to keep the album alive and the listener hooked, with the punchy hard rock returning to punch harder than ever with the party anthem ‘Battlefield Of Love’. Head nodding is definitely the order of the day here as ‘Battlefield Of Love’ rocks its way to a conclusion. The heaviest song on offer by the widest country mile, is ‘Killer Queen’ – romping very close to the heavy metal genre as it thunders, no stomps on past. Don’t dare stand in its way or you’re gonna be mercilessly flattened. And to the final song – an emotion laden power ballad with a scorching vocal performance – ‘Only When I Breathe’ is a breathless ending, a definite lighters held high moment and a big finish to a concert encore that will take the audience breath away.

Overall, an exciting mix of melodic rock and AOR, ‘Midnight Empire’ is catchy, sing a long able, and memorable for all the right reasons.

TRACKLIST

Shadowman
After You’re Gone
Down And Dirty
Godsent Extasy
Through The Fire
Heroes
Rio
Battlefield Of Love
Killer Queen
Only When I Breathe

http://www.onedesire.net/
https://www.facebook.com/OneDesireBand/

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