MIDNIGHT PHANTOM – Hollywood Dreams (the ‘Caught in the ’80s’ album)
As requested, here’s the ‘other’ MIDNIGHT PHANTOM album from the end of last year. In fact, MIDNIGHT PHANTOM consider the just released ‘L.A. Nights’ (featured yesterday at 0dayrox) as their ‘first album’.
Inspired by their hometown heroes Scorpions and Victory as well as other 80s bands such as Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Christian Heimbucher and Stephan Wsintek startet the project Midnight Phantom in 2018 with songs they had written & produced over the previous years. These songs were finally released on YouTube in the spring of 2020 under the title “Caught in the ’80s”.
And these are the songs put together here, kinda an album also known as “Hollywood Dreams“. Overall, their sound is between DOKKEN, ICON, AUTOGRAPH, QUIET RIOT and many more…
It’s been a really good time that I don’t hear that sound of fingers passing thought strings. The very first Metal albums had a lot of them and I don’t know how modern recording processes are able to erase them. The fan will notice it in the opening track “Forbidden Land” and “Children of the 80s.” This track I guess is the reason the fan can hear the sound as a homage to all the classics recorded of that decade.
Well, in fact, it speaks for the album. I mean, “Hollywood Dreams” is all about the 1980s music in its harder facet. “We’re the children of the 1980s, the children of the 1980s, never too young, never too old” says the chorus. Ah, it reminds me that I am a child of the ’80s.
Great homage, guys. Good times for melodic hard rock / metal.
“Hollywood Dreams” is exciting and sometimes frantic with some guitar riffs that makes the fan bang the head at large. A real Melodic Hard Rock album with all the pros and cons. In fact, the cons are always related to what the album really is and this is a great Hard Rock with all its features: melody, intense and catchy choruses, sharp guitar solos, and a singer that actually sings.
Pay attention to some tracks that flirt with NWOBHM as “Order 666,” and others that are pure fun and party hair metal. Title track “Hollywood Dreams” is also a track that explains very the album and the time Midnight Phantom belong at heart.
The image that comes to my mind is this fan going right to “Heroes Never Die” and its emotional – for some cheesy – chorus and content. I can even imagine the face of disdain to say the least.
It’s just that the album is for the young at heart, the ones that love rock n’ roll music with finesse mixed with some roughness. “Hollywood Dreams” talks at the same time to the heart and to the guts.
The combination of catchy choruses and sharp guitars is the stapler of Midnight Phantom and “Hollywood Dreams.” For many it’s one more album that tries to emulate the golden era of Hair Metal, for others is an album that tenderly reminds an era with very well done original songs.
For the first ones, the album just doesn’t matter; for the second ones, it’s the album to get.
Highly Recommended
01 – Forbidden Land
02 – Human Race
03 – Where I Belong
04 – Children Of The 80s
05 – Save Me
06 – Order 666
07 – Hollywood Dreams
08 – Heroes Never Die
09 – Silent Hunter
10 – Voices Of The Past
11 – No More Lies
12 – Local Hero
13 – World Between Worlds
Stephan Wsintek: Lead & Backing Vocals
Christian Heimbucher: Guitar, Bass, Drums, Progamming, Keys, Backing Vocals
BUY
www.amazon.co.uk/Hollywood-Dreams/dp/B08PNXR946
