SUM OF ALL – Time To Leave (2025) *HQ*
From Vansbro, Dalarna, Sweden, arrives quintet SUM OF ALL presenting their debut album titled “Time To Leave“, an interesting mixture of Scandi modern melodic hard rock & AOR, that ‘new wave’ sound in the same wagon of H.E.A.T, Brother Firetribe, One Desire, etc.
All members are seasoned musicians from cover bands and other projects who decided to make their own music based on their own preferences and tastes. Apart from fine melodies and musicianship its an interesting set of songs lyrically not only dealing with relationships but also addressing themes like the uncertainty of life and its rapid twists, how all the new technology affects our society, and reflections on our own inner selves.
Opener ‘Sitting Ducks’ is terrific, a melodic modern sounding melodic hard rocker that reminded me of Remedy, another band that is fairly new to the scene. Direct and to the point, with driving guitars, anthemic feel and a polished solo, the band wastes no time with elongated intros. It kicks right in and does not let up. A great way to start off.
Singer Börje Lindström has a clean strong voice, on the most melodic tracks sounding a lot like Joey Tempest, like on midtempo ‘My Fears’ and and closer, title track ‘Time to Leave’. His phrasing of words is uncanny, and this strong performance makes the song a standout. Credit to him for being able to adjust his timbre so much so that it sounds like the band has two different singers.
On the much more darker ‘Do Talk To Me’ and ‘Man or machine’ the band sounds heavier, and Lindström adds rawness to the verses.
Another standout is ‘First to hold you’, a melodic hard rocker plenty of harmonies, a driving chorus and a great guitar solo reminiscent of Kee Marcello.
SUM OF ALL has all the ingredients it needs and can certainly write some memorable ditties. A welcomed five piece to the melodic hard rock field, classic in style while adding a solid variation in between tracks.
Highly Recommended
01 – Sitting Ducks
02 – Lost And Found
03 – My fears
04 – Do Talk To Me
05 – Man or machine
06 – First to hold you
07 – Why
08 – Stronger
09 – Out Of My System
10 – Time to leave
Börje Lindström (vocals)
Jonas Tornemalm (guitar)
Christian Johansson (guitar)
Anders ‘Slabben’ Sandström (bass)
Ludwig Tornemalm (drums)
Pre order:
sumofall.se/
