PAL – Prime (2018)
“Prime” is the debut on AOR Heaven Records by PAL, a collaboration of the three protagonists Peo Petersson (vocals), Peter Andersson (bass) and Roger Ljunggren (guitar, ex T’BELL). The Swedes know each other a long time and recorded some demos thirty years ago by the name of ESCAPE.
AOR fans should recognize vocalist Peo Petersson who released a fantastic AOR album back in 1995 under the name PEO, titled Look What I’ve Started.
So expect here classy Scandinavian melodic rock / AOR with a distinct flavor and catchy choruses. The debut of the three-piece, which get support by Mauritz Petersson (drums), is full of melodies and excellent and diverse guitars courtesy of Roger Ljunggren, an elegant player.
Tracks like the electrifying pompy AOR of “Carry On“, the beautiful ballad “What We Could Have Been“ or the impulsive “Hiding Away From Love“ definitely deserve attention.
“Heads or tails” showcases Peo vocal color and ability to go from smooth to rocky, and we find a blink to DEF LEPPARD on “Hiding away from Love”. In fact, the song bring to mind Ljunggren’s previous band T’BELL, with its melodic rock waves.
More ‘Americanized’ arrives the splendid “Wildfire” plenty of superlative catchiness in the STAN BUSH vein. For a punchy rocker, listen to “Older and Wiser”, providing balance to the album.
A highlight to me is “River runs Dry”, an old-school AOR tune with a Swedish late ’80s feeling, while “One step Away” is the kind of midtempo tune we all love, smooth and clynical in terms of sound.
PAL’s debut “Prime” has all the active ingredients that fans of classic Melodic Rock / AOR are looking for. There’s solid songwriting, really good musicianship and wonderful melodies all over the album.
Another high quality piece of melodious rock music from the Scandinavian factory. Let’s hope they make another album in the near future.
Highly Recommended
01. Heads Or Trails
02. Carry On
03. Hiding Away From Love
04. Double Nature
05. Wildfire
06. What We’ve Could Been
07. Nowhere Left To Go
08. River Runs Dry
09. Older And Wiser
10. Leaving This Town
11. One Step Away
Peo Pettersson – Vocals, Keyboards
Peter Andersson – Bass
Roger Ljunggren – Guitar
Mauritz Petersson – Drums
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