In the minds of many, Danish rockers Fate will always be best remembered for being “that band that previously featured Mattius Eklundh on guitar”. When it comes to guitar based histrionics, Eklundh’s best work is hard to beat. On the first two albums released by his subsequent band Freak Kitchen, he managed to construct riffs that blended the grunge of Alice In Chains with the bendy jazz of a mid 70s Zappa and add the more bizarre elements of Steve Vai, but still end up with something strangely accessible and melodic. His guitar instrumental albums feature jaw-dropping sounds that are guaranteed to make the listener wonder how the hell he actually achieves some of his best tricks, and ‘Freak Guitar: The Road Less Travelled’ features the most insane version of ‘Smoke On The Water’ you’re ever likely to hear.
Tag Archives: melodic rock
MORPHEUS PROJECT – On The Edge
Masterminded by Mustapha Khetty, the Morpheus Project involves a revolving cast of musicians helping to bring his songs to life. This seven track release follows 2021’s ‘Mosaick’ and brings another concept album into the world, and its songs happily shift between classic rock, AOR and melodic metal, showcasing the fact that Khetty’s compositional skills – although shamelessly retro – straddle a broad spectrum of rock styles. That freewheeling approach means that ‘On The Edge’ could be the kind of album that’ll strike a chord with lovers of the pompier elements of bands like Asia at times, but those fans are unlikely to enjoy the more metallic output, whilst those who like a big helping of proggy metal are unlikely to gravitate towards the more 80s aspects of the album. In trying to please both camps, Khetty risks pleasing no-one in the long term – and that’s a pity, as there’s some fine musicianship and a few strong melodies here.
SEVENTH CRYSTAL – Infinity EP
On their second studio album, ‘Wonderland’ (released in March 2023), Swedish rockers Seventh Crystal delivered some enjoyable melodic hard rock tunes. In the title track, especially, listeners were treated to some well crafted, slightly old fashioned riffs that advertised the musicians’ talents with a decent amount of punch. On that track, the energies of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal could be heard lurking beneath a big sound calling back to American melodic rock acts of the late 80s in the best possible way. It was when tackling smoother sounds that Seventh Crystal really excelled, though, and ‘Million Times’ shared some great harmony driven AOR, loaded with soaring melodies; the classic sounding balladry at the heart of ‘In The Mirror’ showcased a strong vocal from frontman Kristian Fyhr, and the perky ‘Next Generation’ peppered some finely played melodic rock riffs with a poppier core, showing how the band weren’t afraid of mixing things up just a little.
STREETLIGHT – Ignition
Fashion be damned! Swedish melodic rockers Streetlight champion a very commercial blend of AOR and melodic rock on their 2023 album ‘Ignition’. Capturing a perfect sound that celebrates some of the scene’s greatest bands and influences from those 1987-89 glory days, it’s an album packed with massive choruses, but comes with an even bigger concession to brilliantly played, shiny sounding keyboards. There are few musical surprises, but a whole world of giant hooks will ensure lovers of old school AOR will find a near instant liking of the Streetlight sound.
KENT HILLI – Nothing Left To Lose
Kent Hilli is one of the best rock vocalists of his generation. Wherever he appears, you’re pretty much guaranteed some top quality melodic fare. He even managed to make Giant’s ‘Shifting Time’ album entertaining, despite a Dann Huff-less Giant being Giant in name only. Such is his vocal gift that he took on a “dead man’s shoes” role and gave it life, offering something on a par with his own Perfect Plan. This solo album, released in August 2023, continues something of a gold run for the Swedish singer. Presenting eleven melodic rock tracks, the featured material makes the very best of a great voice once more.