Jaded Heart Perfect Insanity
by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer
German melodic rockers Jaded Heart are back with their ninth studio album, entitled Perfect Insanity. It’s also the third album to feature Swedish vocalist Johan Fahlberg, who took the mic when Michael Bormann left the band he helped found. A lot of people wrote Jaded Heart off when Bormann split, but this has become one of those splits (Pink Cream 69 and Angra/Shaman are others) where it turns out to be a good move for all parties. Bormann has released some impressive work, both as a solo artist as well as with bands like The Trophy, and Jaded Heart has released a string of albums that may just be their best ever.
Over the course of the last three albums, Jaded Heart has developed a heavier, somewhat darker sound that is rapidly approaching metal territory. We’re getting to the point where the band’s peers are no longer Bonfire and Fair Warning, but harder-hitting bands like Pink Cream 69, At Vance, Starbreaker and Jorn. Sure the band can still put together a love song or two, but now they are songs like the muscular opening track “Love Is a Killer” and the Judas Priest-sounding “Psycho Kiss.”
The rest of the album has a darker bent, like the gladiatorial “Tonight” (as in “tonight we dine in hell”) and “Hell Just Arrived,” which is almost too melodic for its lyrics. Subject matter aside, the album is an incredibly hard-hitting (yet still melodic) affair with wicked guitar hooks, heavy rhythms and an absolutely first rate vocal performance. Yes, Michael Bormann is probably the better singer, but Fahlberg is such a great fit for this band and their new direction.
Perfect Insanity also benefits from the considerable production/engineering/mixing talents of not one, but three industry veterans – Michael Voss (ex-Mad Max), Chris Lausmann (ex-Bonfire) and Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69). Ward in particular is probably the genre’s best mixing/mastering talent, and you can usually recognize one of his pristine jobs very quickly.
Jaded Heart continues to deliver some of the best melodic hard rock around, and continues to see just how far they can take their sound. If you’ve followed the band for a while, and didn’t lose heart when Michael Bormann left the fold, Perfect Insanity should once again reaffirm your faith in Jaded Heart. If you haven’t paid attention to Jaded Heart in a while, or are new to the band, you’re in for a real treat.
Label: Frontiers
Track Listing:
1. Intro
2. Love Is a Killer
3. Fly Away
4. Blood Stained Lies
5. Tonight
6. Freedom Call
7. One Life One Death
8. Rising
9. Hell Just Arrived
10. Psycho Kiss
11. Come To the Feast
12. Exterminated
Online: www.jadedheart.de
Hardrock Haven rating: 8/10