Company: Frontiers Release: 2016 Genre: Hard Rock Reviewer: Eric Compton
A smooth blend
We’ve seen corporate bands for a number of years now. Some suit-and-tie label rep puts together reunions and supergroups off the cuff like Chickenfoot, Velvet Revolver and Audioslave. Some are good, some are foolhardy follies. But all the labels do it and Frontiers Records president Serafino Perugino does his version of it with Nordic Union. The Scandinavian duo comprises Ronnie Atkins, vocalist of Pretty Maids, with songwriter, musician and producer Erik Martensson of Eclipse and W.E.T.
With nearly 30 months without a new Pretty Maids effort it’s great to hear Atkins turning up the heat with an album that isn’t far removed from classics like ‘Scream’ and ‘Anything Worth Doing...’. Opener “The War Has Begun” utilizes the big harmonized chorus pieces that are prevalent throughout the album. Driving rhythms punctuate throughout with key highlights being the riff-tastic taste of “Hypocrisy” and “When Death is Calling”. Not only does Martennson provide phenomenal guitar work but also rigid bass lines that he manages to bring to the forefront with the high-treble polished production. Overall the album is a smooth blend of AOR, hard rock and umm...European power posh.
