{"id":39028,"date":"2014-03-31T21:22:36","date_gmt":"2014-04-01T02:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=39028"},"modified":"2014-04-03T09:16:14","modified_gmt":"2014-04-03T14:16:14","slug":"baltimoore-back-for-more-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/baltimoore-back-for-more-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Baltimoore | Back For More<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"BaltimooreIf you ever wished the mellow power ballad \u201cBallerina\u201d off Baltimoore\u2019s debut album had been your prom song (or if you\u2019re completely stuck in the \u201880s to the point of rocking out to AOR gem \u201cBlue Moon\u201d), forget it. Gone are the days of mild AOR-ish tunes; the Swedish hard rock act led by charismatic Bj\u00f6rn Lodin, called by some \u201ca Swedish response to David Coverdale,\u201d returns with a much updated and rejuvenated sound. While not entirely separated from its predecessor (2009’s Quick Fix<\/em>) sound-wise, Baltimoore\u2019s newest release Back For More<\/em> sounds heavier and more aggressive. And be more than sure, that this time the Swedes are not going to look back and dwell upon their melodic rock past.<\/p>\n

The album starts with \u201cCry Out For Innocence,\u201d a good representative to the album\u2019s slightly Purple-esque at times (Hammond usage), but definitely contemporary sound. Raw and gruff vocals accompany fast-paced guitar riffs and dynamic rhythm section, making the track a right choice for an album opener. \u201cDon\u2019t Say No\u201d is a solid piece of contemporary, aggressive hard rock in vein of modern-day Winger. Deliberate or not, the track\u2019s powerful groove, melodic but heavy guitar riff and Lodin\u2019s great raspy vocals ultimately remind one of the direction the above Americans took musically with their 2009 album Karma (and which they continue now). <\/p>\n

More or less the same recipe Baltimoore uses with further songs on the album: \u201cAre You On To Me,\u201d a track very aggressive sound-wise, and \u201cGun Of Doom\u201d brilliant with its lumbering, marching riff and a strong chorus. And yet, as for more melodic, mid-tempo songs, \u201cBreak Into Something New\u201d and \u201cMeans To An End\u201d leave a listener with an impression of songs\u2019 melodic potential somewhat wasted. <\/p>\n

\u201cSunshine In The Rain,\u201d on the other hand, is another mid-tempo, polished enough to be almost AOR-ish; a bit of a throwback to Baltimoore\u2019s earlier days (but very contemporary nevertheless). For guitar aficionados, there are plenty of tracks enriched with very interesting riffs and licks: \u201cUntil The End Of The Line,\u201d a slower \u201cSay It Like It Is\u201d and the folk-inspired title track, which again develops into a piece of contemporary hard rock. <\/p>\n

Baltimoore\u2019s recent album Back For More proves the title\u2019s not incidental \u2013 the Swedes are back for more indeed, and ready to attack. Aggressive and heavy as perhaps never before, the band approaches their 30th anniversary marching into their future, with no traces of nostalgia for what is gone with the glorious \u201880s. Back For More<\/em> is definitely about the future, not the past \u2013 and although this may be at times disappointing for the fans of the band\u2019s early albums, the new album proves that the potential is still there. And Baltimoore\u2019s contemporary heavy straight-in-your-face rock incarnation is at least convincing, if not interesting. Recommended for every hard rock fan not stuck in the past and not too nostalgic about what was \u201ccool\u201d in rock music two decades ago.<\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nBj\u00f6rn Lodin – vocals\/guitar
\nKlas Anderhell – drums
\nMats Attaque – guitar\/vocals
\nWeine Johansson – bass
\n\u00d6rjan Fernkvist – keyboard<\/p>\n

Tracklist:
\n1) Cry Out For Innocence.
\n2) Don’t Say No
\n3) Until The End Of The Line
\n4) Are You On To Me?
\n5) Break Into Something New
\n6) Means To An End
\n7) Gun Of Doom
\n8) Sunshine In The Rain
\n9) Say It Like It Is
\n10) Back For More<\/p>\n

Label: BLP Music<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.baltimoore.net\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 7.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Columnist — If you ever wished the mellow power ballad \u201cBallerina\u201d off Baltimoore\u2019s debut album had been your prom song (or if you\u2019re completely stuck in the \u201880s to the point […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":39029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[9054,9053,9055,2317,1103],"class_list":{"0":"post-39028","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-back-for-more","9":"tag-baltimoore","10":"tag-blp-music","11":"tag-cd-review","12":"tag-hard-rock"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}