{"id":43570,"date":"2014-08-05T18:54:06","date_gmt":"2014-08-05T23:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=43570"},"modified":"2014-08-05T18:54:06","modified_gmt":"2014-08-05T23:54:06","slug":"220-volt-walking-in-starlight-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/220-volt-walking-in-starlight-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"220 Volt | Walking In Starlight<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"220A long, long time ago\u2026 that\u2019s how a fairy tale about the Swedish band which never joined the first league of fame dominated by their peers M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce and Bon Jovi, but which certainly had their share of success back in the \u201880s, should start. And although it could have ended at the point of the group being swept by grunge\/alternative wave of the early \u201890s, it seems 220 Volt are eager to write at least one more chapter of the story. Seventeen years after the release of Lethal Illusion<\/em>, which most probably ended up lost in the mists of time, the Swedes come back with Walking In Starlight due to be released this September via AOR Heaven.<\/p>\n

First seconds into \u201cWalking In Starlight,\u201d you may start wondering if the new incarnation of 220 Volt shed their AOR\/melodic rock skin so as to pupate into more ambitious, progressive-infused act? But, as it eventually turns out, the opener\u2019s no drastic change from the band\u2019s glory days. The eponymous track of their new album is perhaps more sublime piece than their quondam \u201880s hit \u201cThe Harder They Come\u201d and certainly bears traces of being conceived in 2014, but still remains hard rock sound-wise. And, as it may be safely said, a little bit of keyboard wizardry doesn\u2019t do any harm to anyone, too.<\/p>\n

However, in the next tracks \u2013 from \u201cSystem Overload\u201d to \u201cAlive\u201d \u2013 the band openly flirts with modern-day melodic metal, leaving no doubt about the \u201880s being over once and for all. Be it the influence of the band\u2019s new singer Anders Enberg (ex-Therion, ex-Lions Share) or just the sign of the times, the tracks are feisty, the riffs \u2013 muscular and aggressive, and the production up-to-date to the utmost. Just listen to the tight rhythm section and Accept-esque shredding gallop in \u201cBlind\u201d \u2013 it seems you have to be quite careful with labeling this outfit \u201cAOR\u201d now. <\/p>\n

Of course, even the heavier 220 Volt is not deprived of melody \u2013 as in \u201cAlive\u201d or the keyboard-laden \u201cBroken Promises.\u201d Closer to the band\u2019s earlier style are \u201cStranded\u201d and \u201cThe Waiting,\u201d significantly more mellow mid-tempos with hooky choruses that should satisfy every listener craving for catchy melodies and \u201880s-infused wailing guitar sound. The band gravitates towards heavier side of things again in tracks such as \u201cGet Me Out,\u201d driven by interesting, twisted guitar riff \u2013 the chorus far from being memorable, though \u2013 or fast-paced power metal piece \u201cThrough The Wastelands,\u201d its furious riffs put against powerful choruses. The latter shows yet another face of many 220 Volt has now \u2013 those who thought they\u2019re just another \u201880s hair band were terribly wrong, it seems. <\/p>\n

Speaking of the \u201880s, there are some traces of the well-crafted melodies favored in this decade in the next tracks on the album \u2013 the keyboard-driven hard rock piece \u201cBurning Heart\u201d and its follow-up \u201cTake A Good Look,\u201d a bluesy, feisty track with killer chorus. The latter, with its slight Americana flavor, could have been a lost outtake of any of the recent Skynyrd recordings, its combination of contemporary heaviness and classic melody being equally convincing. \u201cOne Good Reason\u201d continues in similarly blues-meets-rock, but even feistier manner, while the final \u201cGuiding Light\u201d follows the adage that goes as follows \u2013 no good rock album can do without a ballad. At least, a ballad as good as this one \u2013 apart from any lyrical sentiments and soaring vocals, the perfect duel between wailing guitars and string section should tug at every music lover\u2019s heartstrings. <\/p>\n

The main feature of Walking In The Starlight<\/em> is the surprising variety of styles and genres the band draws from, be it melodic hard rock similar to their early efforts, contemporary straight-in-your-face metal or some light shades of blues. It\u2019s perhaps due to the longtime absence of the band or their musical growth and eagerness to explore the unknown territories; anyway, it\u2019s always up to the listener to decide in which of those styles 220 Volt appears to be the most convincing. And although certain tracks are crafted for those who listened to Eye To Eye and Young And Wild until both eventually worn out, listeners oriented more on modern-day rock and metal should also get familiar with the album. It\u2019s an interesting compilation of different genres \u2013 \u201cto each, his own\u201d kind of thing \u2013 marking a return of a band that doesn\u2019t have anything to prove, but is welcome to drop in at the studio way more often than once in seventeen years. Recommended.<\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nAnders Engberg \u2013 vocals
\nThomas Drevin \u2013 guitars
\nMats Karlsson \u2013 guitars
\nPeter Hermansson – drums<\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1.\tWalking In Starlight
\n2.\tSystem Overload
\n3.\tBroken Promises
\n4.\tAlive
\n5.\tBlind
\n6.\tStranded
\n7.\tGet Me Out
\n8.\tThe Waiting
\n9.\tThrough The Wastelands
\n10.\tBurning Heart
\n11.\tTake A Good Look
\n12.\tOne Good Reason
\n13.\tGuiding Light <\/p>\n

Label: AOR Heaven<\/p>\n

Website:
\nhttp:\/\/www.220volt.se<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/220VoltOfficial<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 7\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Columnist — A long, long time ago\u2026 that\u2019s how a fairy tale about the Swedish band which never joined the first league of fame dominated by their peers M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce and […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":43575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[9774,9075,2317,1103,9776,9775],"class_list":{"0":"post-43570","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-220-volt","9":"tag-aor-heaven","10":"tag-cd-review","11":"tag-hard-rock","12":"tag-lethal-illusion","13":"tag-walking-in-starlight"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43570","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=43570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}