ONROXX – Swedish Brew (2017)

Properly titled “Swedish Brew“, this is the debut album from ONROXX, the new melodic hard rock project created by multi-instrumentalist Per-Åke Walldén. And I said properly titled as OnRoxx’s sound is absolutely Swedish inspired by the classic acts from genre; read ’80s / 90s.

Walldén works as session musician, so not surprisingly, for the moment, OnRoxx is a studio project. But his connections allowed Walldén to get excellent contributors to the recording.
Skilled Thomas Broman (Glenn Hughes, Michael Schenker Group) play drums on most the album, Stian Kristoffersen (Pagan’s Mind) delivers his distinctive punch on one track, while Anders Engberg (Sorcerer, ex-220 Volt) is at charge of all lead vocals.
Engberg is a real find, as his terrific throat truly raises the bar of this material, and in fact, he’s one of the stars on “Swedish Brew”. His vocal tone similar to a young Joey Tempest perfectly fits this material.

And this material is classic Scandinavian Melodic Rock with a sound / songwriting style influenced by the Swedish / Norwegian scene from the second half of the ’80s.
You have the fantastic ‘What It Takes’ which only in 2:58 minutes takes you back to an era when melodies ruled. A short track akin the singles released in Sweden during the ’80s by unsigned bands eager for a record contract.

‘Dark Matter’ is more midtempo oriented with an AORish feel but Walldén muscular guitar riffs keeps the tune up. Did I mentioned the man is a skilled guitar player and his keyboard fills are lovely? Here he delivers one of the best guitar solos from the album, plus some classy vintage keyboards not just complementing the song but really defining its sound. The song reminds me of Eighties band Madison and Engberg’s vocal performance to Goran Edman.

‘Run’ has some feel-good Dalton party vibe with a great chorus, in ‘Live The Dream’ I found similarities with another pretty obscure Swedish band from the ’80s (Lion’s Share), then to my ears, the extremly catchy ‘Late Night Talk’ sounds like Europe circa Prisoners In Paradise era.
You have some TOTO-isms in ‘Heaven’s Close’, then there’s some epicness, in fact, Scandi grandeur in the excellent ‘The Kings Call’ (very Europe / Tempest but with an original spin). A very well written and cleverly arranged song.

The dynamic ‘Wake Up!’ blend AOR & Melodic Rock in equal parts for a catchy output, Walldén play some innovative rhythm guitars plus lots, I mean lots, of keyboards here, going from vintage synths to synth guitar. This is not your ‘ordinary’ melodic rock song. Take a deep listen an you’ll find very, very elaborated arrangements here.
‘Follow Me’ ends the album in uptempo mode, almost hard rock with stronger guitars, and again I love Engberg lead vocal work. You can hear the difference in drumming courtesy of Stian Kristoffersen (Pagan’s Mind) providing to the album a really fine new sonic angle.

I’m sold. Coming out of nowhere, OnRoxx / Per-Åke Walldén are presenting one of the most innovative Melodic Rock albums from the last decade.
I mean, “Swedish Brew” is classy Scandinavian MR / AOR in essence, but the arrangements, the guitar licks / mix of layers, the keyboards clever placement, the excellent vocal performance / harmonies, turns OnRoxx much more consistent than your typical band from the genre.

And all that is wisely glued without resigning catchiness. Sure, production is obviously self-managed and there’s some flaws (cymbals mix on a couple of songs, as example), but this is minor complain.
Please someone give OnRoxx / Per-Åke Walldén a record contract and a little budget… I’m sure he can do miracles.
Do not miss OnRoxx’s “Swedish Brew” and give it a proper, deep listen, scrutinizing the excellent arrangements and playing on here.
HIGHLY Recommended

01. What It Takes
02. Dark Matter
03. Run
04. Live the Dream
05. Late Night Talk
06. Heaven’s Close
07. The Kings Call
08. Wake Up!
09. Follow Me

Per-Åke Walldén – Guitars, Bass, Keyboards
Anders Engberg (Sorcerer, ex-220 Volt) – Vocals
Alfred Fridhagen (Reinxeed, Hellspray) – Drums Track 8
Stian Kristoffersen (Pagan’s Mind) – Drums Track 9
Thomas Broman (Glenn Hughes, Michael Schenker Group) – Drums Track 1-7

BUY IT !
www.amazon.de/Swedish-Brew-Onroxx/dp/B06XRMC7HM
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