GINEVRA – We Belong to the Stars (2022) HQ

“We Belong To The Stars” is the debut album from Sweden’s GINEVRA, a new group comprised of vocalist Kristian Fyhr (Seventh Crystal), guitarist Magnus Karlsson (The Ferrymen, Primal Fear), bassist Jimmy Jay (H.E.A.T.), and drummer Magnus Ulfstedt (ex-Eclipse, Nordic Union).
Taken a look at the line up, Ginevra’s sound & style is under the same big umbrella of excellent Nordic melodic hard rock like H.E.A.T, Eclipse, Nordic Union, Crowne, and the like, but without necessarily sounding like those bands. Ginevra is hooky and melodic, but mostly heavier and more guitar/riff oriented than traditional melodic rock.
Magnus Karlsson, who contributed to the songwriting for the album as well, seemed the perfect fit to play guitar for Ginevra and when approached about participating, he was keen on the idea.

With a powerful vocalist like Fyhr and a monster guitarist like Karlsson, whose resume speaks for itself, a top notch rhythm section needed to join the fold. Jona Tee, whom Frontiers Music has worked with as a musician and/or producer on releases from New Horizon, Crowne, and Temple Balls, recommended his H.E.A.T. bandmate Jimmy Jay for the bass position and he was the perfect fit.
For the drum stool, Magnus Ulfstedt, who has played with Eclipse, Nordic Union, and Jimi Jamison, was asked to join the band and complete this excellent Swedish foursome.

Kristian Fyhr first came to the label’s attention with Seventh Crystal, the other band he is lead vocalist for. Seventh Crystal’s 2021 debut album, “Delirium” was a real breath of fresh air in the melodic rock scene considering the band managed to acknowledge the traditions of the genre, while also bringing in modern hard rock elements. Fhyr has also contributed to the songwriting of recent albums from the label, including Giant’s “Shifting Time”.
The pairing of Fhyr’s vocal and songwriting talents with Karlsson’s stunning guitar playing and songwriting has birthed something truly special and melodic hard rock fans can look forward to yet another strong act from the ever fruitful Swedish hard rock scene.

With Ginevra especially Fyhr has landed in a different direction as the songs, sound and approach are a different cup of tea for the singer in comparison with Seventh Crystal. The music is melodic, that stands above any question, but the overall direction is much heavier with lots of room for Karlsson to showcase his signature guitar sound while Fyhr proves he can handle heavy material as well.
His reach is enormous, his diversity is wide and he just fires on all cylinders. But you can also hear the features in his voice that were so significant for Seventh Crystal as well, so is not so that he had to change his vocal personality completely.
To round up the sonics, Jay’s fluid bassline and Ulfstedt’s percussive rhtyhms provide an anchor for a series of melodically satisfying songs.

While the production canvas is ‘metallic’, the nature of the songs is pure melodic hard rock. Nothing ever stands still, it’s an album always on the move. Like ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Apologise’, two tightly structured songs pivoting on Karlsson’s imaginative axework. Riffy, upfront when it needs to be, laid back, purposeful and expansive elsewhere. There are echoes of Survivor and Tyketto constantly surfacing in these two pacey songs as well as others, especially in in Fhyr’s vocal timbre and phrasing.
Shades of choral progressive rock break through from time to time, just to remind us we’re standing in the Melodic Metal section.

It is clear that this album has more in common with Karlsson’s Freefall project, Allen/Lande and The Ferrymen than it has with Seventh Crystal and I suppose that was exactly what the band / project and the record label had in mind.
What we can conclude is that this Swedish project Ginevra is one of the better ones that has come out of the Frontiers pipeline and melodic rockers who prefer their stuff a bit heavier will most likely cherish ‘We Belong To The Stars’.
Highly Recommended

01 – Siren’s Calling
02 – Unbreakable
03 – Apologize
04 – Masquerade
05 – Break the Silence
06 – Brokenhearted
07 – We Belong to the Stars
08 – I’lll Be Around
09 – Falling to Pieces
10 – The Fight
11 – My Rock’n’roll

Kristian Fhyr – Vocals, Backing Vocals, Keyboards
Magnus Karlsson – Guitar, Keyboards
Jimmy Jay – Bass
Magnus Ulfstedt – Drums
Guests:
Chez Kane – Vocals on ‘Masquerade’
Alessandro Del Vecchio – Keyboards

Pre order:
www.amazon.com/We-Belong-Stars-Ginevra/dp/B0B35LF3J3