KARMA FIRE – The Shadow (2017)
I didn’t see this coming… “The Shadow” is the debut album from KARMA FIRE, an exciting new Nordic hard rock act. Founded by guitarist Terje Husa, the man has assembled a set of top notch musicians – Daniel Sunde (vocals), Terje Lennavik (bass), Thorleif Østmoe (keyboards / backing vocals) and Harald Rossetnes (drums) – to create a fantastic slice of traditional hard rock with the punch and melody missing since the late ’80s.
Karma Fire mention as reference the likes of Van Halen, TNT, Europe, Whitesnake and more of this ilk, and certainly you can hear these on “The Shadow”, but the sound & style all over is very much of their own.
Terje Husa is quite influenced by ’80s American guitarists with extensive use of legato licks and a monster set up sound. The rhythm section will remind you the bouncy punch of Whitesnake or Burning Rain, while Daniel Sunde is a real find. His vocals are some kind of a mix between Tony Martin and Moritz’s Peter Scallan. Wow, this man will rock your socks off.
All tracks are pretty awesome, such as the driving hard rocker ‘In Love’ with its terrific chorus, spiraling guitars, keyboard galore and pounding drums. The vocals soar, and the guitar solo is a flash.
From there, you can pick any track, as all are really, really good. ‘Stormbringer’ is melodic midtempo gem, title track ‘The Shadow’ packs an energy that reminds me early Dokken, then ‘Heart on the Run’ adds a stadium melodic hard rock feel to die for.
‘Highwire’ has an ’80s UFO vibe, ‘Forever’ has a crazy guitar work in a TNT style (and a catchy melody), then if you need a power ballad, ‘Soldier On’ fulfills your desire, but at the middle explodes into a meaty midtempo with ‘that’ classy keyboards and epic vocals.
Seems Karma Fire does not have the most efficient promotion agency, but we are here to highly recommend this talented band and encourage you to get their terrific debut “The Shadow”. The album is only available in Norway on physical CD, but you can find it at iTunes.
Using the production / mixing skills of Tommy Newton (Helloween, UFO, Kamelot), Karma Fire has created a cracking 12-track album with all the classic, traditional hard rock elements we all love.
Very, Highly Recommended.
01 – In Love
02 – Stormbringer
03 – The Shadow
04 – Soldier On
05 – Heart on the Run
06 – Highwire
07 – Skyfall
08 – Coming Home
09 – Demon Love
10 – Forever
11 – Highway
12 – Motivated
Daniel Sunde – vocals
Terje Husa – guitar
Terje Lennavik – bass
Thorleif Østmoe – keyboards, backing vocals
Harald Rossetnes – drums
BUY IT !
itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-shadow/id1199340354
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