  
UDR/Warner
Almost thirty years ago the new EUROPE album was to a world-wide power surge. In
2015 no album does that, by any band. But still EUROPE carry the banner and create their own revolution, as a hard-working rock band with a loyal following that has long since dropped their spandex pants. So where are EUROPE in 2015?
Logically enough “War of Kings” open with the title track. And lo and behold it´s about Vikings! I really didn´t see that coming after “Bag of Bones”. And it´s blazing heavy, maybe closer to the sound of “Scream of Anger, and lyrically closer o BAHORY than ever. But from then on they are firmly rooted in the day and age of the music they grew up with; e.g. DEEP PURPLE, LED ZEPPELIN, WHITESNAKE and their ilk. The downside of that? Well they get the blues at times, resulting in slow almost painful track like the melancholy of“The Second Day” and the backward looking underlying depression of “California 405. The cons? Well you get tracks like the streaming “Hole in My Pocket”, the interesting meeting of TONY IOMMI and EUROPE in “Nothin´ to Ya´”, the 60-ies catchy “Days of Rock´n´Roll” that I really don´t associate with EUROPE at all, the jam turned great song “Rainbow Bridge” and the could have been a lighter ballad “Angels (with Broken Hearts)” that represents EUROPE today well. 30 years ago it would have had that “Carrie-sound”, today it´s retro gritty with a lot more2 maturity and no spandex at all. The greatest feature? Well say what you want but I have never really heard JOHN NORUM in such fine shape, not solo, not 30 years ago. No one of us has heard so much of JOHN LEVÉN in the past, and such team work as this album is. So, in spite of days gone by and former glories EUROPE have come up with an album that stands on its own and no Swedish band will come close this year...or the next...or the year after that...
Track List
War of Kings
Hole in My Pocket
Second Day
Praise You
Nothin' to Ya
California 405
Days of Rock'n'Roll
Children of the Mind
Rainbow Bridge
Angels (With Broken Hearts)
Light Me Up
Bonus Track
Wasastan
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