NERGARD – A Bit Closer To Heaven [digipak] (2015)

NERGARD is the musical brainchild given birth to by Norwegian bassist, keyboardist and drummer Andreas Nergård, being “A Bit Closer to Heaven” the second album from the project featuring a multitude of guest singers and musicians from bands such as Circus Maximus, Amaranthe, Pagan’s Mind, Primal Fear, The Jan Holberg Project and others.

On a quest of recreating a new blend of genres, Nergard is trying to deliver something different with ”A Bit Closer To Heaven”, and he succeed with gusto.
The album blends melodic hard rock, melodic metal and progressive, the latter in a very melodic, dynamic way. And all is pretty gripping and intriguing.
The combined experience and talent of the various singers means that there’s no issue in the vocal department. The myriad styles of the different vocalists all add something to each track and no guest is wasted or under-used.

It’s not a complete testosterone-fest either, as we are also treated to female singers such as Elize Ryd (Amaranthe) whose presence raises the bar.
The multiple singers give the album a diverse feel while the music and production gives it a cohesiveness that is necessary to avoid it sounding like a compilation.
As example, opener ‘Light And Shadows’ is quite heavy but in the middle turns extremely melodious with lots of harmony vocals, and then returns to a flowing melodic metal feel.

Then, track 2 ‘Fall From Grace’ is a true melodic hard rock tune, featuring the excellent vocals of Thomas Løseth (form the band Tempo), an absolute revelation to me, and a guy to keep an aye on.
More variation continues with the quality semi-ballad ‘On Through The Storm’ combining male / female leads, another solid melodic hard rocker in ‘Let It Come’, and a driving, groovy rocker with ‘Help Me Through The Night’.

‘I Will Find You’ brings some prog with a superb clean atmosphere and great arrangements, title track it’s almost poppy (reminds me The Jan Holberg Project), while closer ‘When All I Want Is You’ is a midtempo with a melodic rock spirit but relaxed sounds.

NERGARD has delivered a rich, highly melodic & varied album in “A Bit Closer to Heaven”.
The songs are all really well-written / arranged and are chock full of hooks, catchy melodies and harmonies. Each song has its own character and personality, and this is further enhanced by the vocal variety.
Musicianship is first-rate and there are enough solos included for the guest musicians to get their teeth into, while production is pristine, extremely polished.
“A Bit Closer to Heaven” has a varied spectrum of potential listeners, but overall this is a truly enjoyable record for all Melodic Hard Rock aficionados.
Highly Recommended.

01 – Light And Shadows
02 – Fall From Grace
03 – On Through The Storm
04 – Let It Come
05 – Help Me Through The Night
06 – I Will Find You
07 – A Bit Closer To Heaven
08 – When All I Want Is You

Andreas Nergård – drums, bass, keyboards
Elize Ryd (Amaranthe) – vocals
Nils K. Rue (Pagan’s Mind) – vocals
Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear, ex Gamma Ray) – vocals
Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus) – vocals
Andi Kravljaca (Aeon Zen) – vocals
Thomas Løseth (Tempo) – vocals
Sunniva Unsgård – vocals
Ole Martin Moe Thornæs (Rudhira) – vocals
Jostein Svarstad (Tony Carey, Jan Holberg Project) – guitar solo
Stig Nergård (Tellus Requiem) – guitar solo
Jørn Viggo Lofstad (Pagan’s Mind) – guitar solo
Øyvind Voldmo Larsen (Withem) – guitar solo
Henrik Karlsvik – rhythm guitar
Martin Aas – bass
Øyvind Wærnes – guitar
Raymond Hellem – acoustic guitar

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