Alyson Avenue | Changes
by Nikiforos Skoumas
Staff Writer
Alyson Avenue is the female fronted Swedish melodic hard rock/AOR band formed during the late ’90s, which arguably contributed to the resurgence of melodic rock/AOR in the new millennium. Alyson Avenue put out two albums; Presence of Mind in 2000 and Omega in 2004, both featuring Anette Olzon on lead vocals who shortly after exited the line up to join Finnish metal stars Nightwish. With the addition of a male vocalist the members of Alyson Avenue re-grouped under the band-name of Second Heat releasing a self-titled debut before disbanding.
2011 finally sees the release of the new studio album Changes by Alyson Avenue now fronted by female vocalist Arabella Vitanic. To be accurate, founders Niclas Olson (keyboards) and Thomas Loyska (bass) put this latest line-up together in 2008; having toured and recorded extensively over the past three years so a full length album was more than anticipated.
From the opening track, it becomes clear that line up is adamant in recreating the original Alyson Avenue sound established in the previous two albums, which also applies to the lead vocals. Arabella’s singing is practically identical in style and sound to Olzon. So upon first play it all sounds like the original line up Alyson Avenue.
Still Changes holds a fair amount of surprises for the experienced melodic hard rock fan. From the opening of the second track “Will I Make Love” one recognizes Michael Bormann’s unmistakable vocals in a male-female duet being one of the strongest moments on Changes. Following is the title track which, probably the most intense track on offer, featuring a blinding guitar solo by non other than Danger Danger virtuoso Rob Marcello. In addition Anette Olzon is credited for contributing backing vocals on the majority of tracks on the album, though it is hard to pinpoint the exact spots due to the similarity of the two female voices.
It has to be addressed that Arabella is one of two new members to enter the Alyson Avenue line up, the other being guitarist Tony Rohtla; much like his predecessors Rohtla is a melodic shredder, adding thick rhythm parts, and a plethora of harmonics and well-crafted solos.
Changes, as a whole, bares the same high quality standards as the previous two albums in terms of songwriting and performance. In terms of production, Changes clearly raises the bar for Alyson Avenue as it is by far the best sounding of the three albums after all the material is mixed and co-produced by Chris Laney an authority in melodic rock engineering.
Overall, Changes signifies a new chapter in Alyson Avenue’s history which is not dissimilar to the artistic direction of their past. Changes is a faithful continuation of the sound the group shaped a decade ago, therefore under no circumstances will this album alienate long-term fans of the band. For fans of female fronted AOR/melodic hard rock, Changes is nothing less than essential.
Genre: Melodic Hard Rock / AOR
Band:
Arabella Vitanc – vocals
Niclas Olsson – Keyboard
Thomas Löyskä – Bass
Fredrik Eriksson – Drums
Tony Rohtla – Guitar
Track list:
1. Liar (4:13)
2. Will I Make Love (4:17)
3. Changes (3:51)
4. Amazing Days (3:57)
5. Don´t Know If Love Is Alive (4:37)
6. Fallen (4:08)
7. Into The Fire (4:41)
8. I Will Be Waiting (3:37)
9. I´ll Cry For You (3:53)
10. Somewhere (4:15)
11. Always Keep On Loving You (4:10)
Band website: http://alysonavenue.se/
Label Website: http://www.avenue-of-allies.com/
Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5/10