  
Frontiers/Playground Music
Russell Allen and Jorn Lande are both seasoned and famed vocalists so I will spare you the introduction. Frontiers Records was instrumental in forming this supergroup back in 2005, and the result is this far four albums with about 3-4 years in between. This far I personally liked the first one, “The Battle”, best but here is a real challenger. Since 2010´s less inspired “The Showdown” drummer Jaime Salazar and guitarist Magnus Karlsson have left, and ALLEN/LANDE have turned to Finland for their replacements. Two Swedes out, and in comes Timo Tolkki and drummer Jami Huovinen. The sound is surprisingly enough to the better (after hearing Tolkki´s last solo album...).
The pomp and the vocal focus have not changed. But there are still audible improvements over the predecessor. The guitars are simply more without taking over, the drumming I can´t really specify but the overall sound is better and more spirited. The vocals are of case unmistakeably ALLEN/LANDE, with the latter using perhaps even a touch more force in a few songs, e.g. “Down from the Mountain”. That song, “Lady of Winter”, the title track and “Bitter Sweet” are some of the strongest tracks this project has ever made. As a whole there might be a few barely above average tracks, , like the slightly German-sounding “Come Dream with Me” and the slightly out of direction “Reaching for the Stars”. But as a whole this one is gladly enough a match for their first album, which is good for the future of the project.
Track List
Come Dream with Me
Down from the Mountain
In the Hands of Time
Solid Ground
Lady of Winter
Dream About Tomorrow
Hymn to the Fallen
The Great Divide
Reaching for the Stars
Bitter Sweet
www.frontiers.it www.myspace.com/allenlande2
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