ACACIA AVENUE – Cold (2014)
*
A man with many strings to his guitar as being part of Fate, Fatal Force, Decoy, and as solo artist, Danish Torben Enevoldsen returns to his project ACACIA AVENUE after five years concentrating on his many other bands.
The very fact that AOR Heaven are putting their name behind this one should give you an inkling of where Acacia Avenue’s musical heart lies, with Enevoldsen citing the likes of Survivor, Boston, Toto, Winger and Dokken as inspirations for this aspect of his musical psyche.
And it shows, for from start to finish “Cold” walks the line marked AOR and ’80s / early-90s Melodic Rock and it does it superbly well.
Enevoldsen has some very talented vocalists (that have also helped out with co-writing) on board, a who’s who team in the melodic rock arena today: we have the awesome Rob Moratti (ex-Saga), Peter Sundell (Grand Illusion), Steve Newman (Newman), Torben Lyshom (Pangea, Mysterell) and others, who all contribute greatly in making this 11-track opus such a joyous listen.
Enevoldsen also handles bass, keyboards and supplies backing vocals to the entire platter and his talent shines through, as does the drumming precision of Fatal Force’s Dennis Hansen. But, onto the album.
The disc opens in great style with the very strong hard rocking track “Time” featuring Steve Newman, then Rob Moratti delivers a heavenly melodic performance on the highlight “Love Will Survive”.
“It’s Over” is a wonderful AOR midtempo with all the Scandinavian magic, same with the highly harmonized “Signs Of Love”.
Other great numbers include the groovy title track with a solid lead vocal work by Torben Lysholm and an instrumentation by Enevoldsen clearly inspired by Toto / Tommy Denander.
Steve Newman adds to the melodic rocker “Angelina” a bluesy touch, “How Many Nights” has a breezy melodic line and keyboard infusions all over, while Peter Sundell sings the elegant semi-ballad “Freedom From Doubt” closing the disc.
This is pure Melodic Rock / AOR carefully crafted by a really talented musician and wonderfully put together with the excellent vocalists cleverly chosen for each number. It’s the sort of music that no-one ever gets tired of.
Torben Enevoldsen’s guitar playing is nothing short of fantastic, loaded with hooks and soulful solos, tasty and melodic. He also provided a crisp and homogeneous production.
The album title “Cold” is the opposite of the material on offer here, if you like your Melodic Rock / AOR served with class and brilliance, you can’t miss this second Acacia Avenue release.
ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED.
01. Time (feat. Steve Newman)
02. Love Will Survive (feat. Rob Moratti)
03. It’s Over (feat. Albin Ljungqvist)
04. Out Of The Business (feat. Mikael Roupé)
05. Signs Of Love (feat. Rob Moratti)
06. Cold (feat. Torben Lysholm)
07. Angelina (feat. Steve Newman)
08. You And I (feat. Mikael Roupé)
09. Calling Out (feat. Nicklas Sonne)
10. How Many Nights (feat. Torben Lysholm)
11. Freedom From Doubt (feat. Peter Sundell)
Rob Moratti – Vocals
Steve Newman – Vocals
Albin Ljungqvist – Vocals
Mikael Roupé – Vocals
Torben Lysholm – Vocals
Peter Sundell – Vocals
Nicklas Sonne – Vocals
Torben Enevoldsen – Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
Lars Frandsen-Melau – Piano on 6
Dennis Hansen – Drums
BUY IT !
www.aorheaven.com/pages/ooze/ooze_sounds.php?3067
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