TORE St. MOREN – My Way Or The Highway (2014)
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Norwegian TORE St. MOREN is one of the most respected Scandinavian guitarists having recorded with dozen of artists as session musician, but he’s internationally known as main axeman in Jorn Lande’s band. Tore was part of Jorn since the beginning, but now he left the group to pursue a solo career.
“My Way Or The Highway” is Tore St. Moren debut CD, and his band includes seasoned musicians in John Macaluso (Jorn, Yngwie, TNT) on drums, Nic Angileri (Jorn, Gotthard) on bass, and young second guitarist Espen Rogne.
As you can see, this is basically Jorn’s backing band of few years ago, but if you’re expecting the same metal edge of Lande’s solo works, you’re wrong. Tore St Moren’s band plays traditional hard rock with an ’80s / ’90s feel, really melodic and on many places very classic rock sounding.
The band feels organic and tight as unit, and Tore, apart from his remarkable skills on the six-strings, it’s a respectable lead singer. Anyway, he counts with a little help from friends to add variation to the album.
Renowned Rick Altzi (Masterplan, Magnus Karlsson’s Free Fall) sings the really good late ’80s Yngwie meets Rainbow “Bad Blood” and the galloping “Don’t Call Me”, the heaviest cut here akin Axel Rudi Pell.
But also we have Åge Sten Nilsen (ex Wig Wam) on the juicy classic rocker “Tell Me What You Want” a midtempo track with some DIO in it yet more melodic and quite ‘British’. (Tore St Moren will be playing on Nilsen’s new band Ammunition, which debut is being produced by Erik Mårtensson).
If you like your classic rock played with hot blood (according to Tore, most the album was recorded live in the studio) “My Way Or The Highway” is for you.
It’s quite varied, mostly melodic yet interspersed with a couple of heavy hard rockers, even a melodic hard rocker in between in the Ted Nugent-like “Kiss My Ass” – I would loved more songs in this vein, it really kick ass.
Recommended.
1 – The Day We Met
2 – Bad Blood
3 – Snortin’ Whiskey
4 – Tell Me What You Want
5 – Don’t Call Me
6 – Stand Up
7 – Kiss My Ass
8 – Slow Down
Tore St Moren (Jorn) – guitar, vocals
John Macaluso (Jorn, Yngwie, TNT) – drums
Nic Angileri (Jorn, Gotthard) – bass
Espen Rogne – guitar
Rick Altzi (Masterplan, Magnus Karlsson’s Free Fall) – vocals
Åge Sten Nilsen (Wig Wam) – vocals
BUY IT !
torestmoren.com/
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