S.A.Y – Orion (2015)
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Swedes Jan Åkesson and Peter Grundström have been part of rockers StoneLake since 1984, releasing six solid studio albums. Now they teamed up for their own project called S.A.Y, definitely Melodic Hard Rock oriented and with, of course, a Scandinavian sound & feel, as hear on their debut “Orion“.
Grundström’s vocals are smoother than on his previous recordings, while Åkesson handles all instruments minus the drums, provided by… yes, StoneLake bandmate Jens Westberg.
“Orion” contains 11 tracks of polished and powerful Melodic Rock crafted in the very classy style of the genre.
Just check the bouncy “Tragedy” or the highly harmonized “Heroes”, the first two tracks that perfectly paints the picture of the music packed here.
The vocals soar, the guitar riffs are punchy and the rhythm section (very well produced & mixed bass / drums) are really solid. Think Final Frontier, Bad Habit / Last Autumn’s Dream yet more driving in its delivery.
More of this can be enjoyed on “Crash And Burn”, “Eight Hundred Miles”, the pretty awesome “Broken Wings” and the extremely melodic “Never Say Goodbye”.
More AOR oriented are the fine & clean “Illusion” and closing track “Under Your Spell”, with a mid-tempo melody and a nice chorus.
However, some cuts like “Love And Affection” (akin TNT), “Dream On” that reminds me Da Vinci second era, and the strong riffs of “Memories” feature a more hard edged guitar work from Åkesson, providing a good balance to the album.
S.A.Y deliver the goods, based on classy Scandinavian Melodic Rock with a Hard / AOR touch here and there.
If you are fan of these genres, there’s no way to not enjoy “Orion”. As said, production is first rate and despite most instruments are handled by one man, everything feels tight thanks to the as well very good mix.
Highly Recommended.
01. Tragedy
02. Heroes
03. Crash And Burn
04. Never Say Goodbye
05. Eight Hundred Miles
06. Broken Wings
07. Dream On
08. Love And Affection
09. Illusion
10. Memories
11. Under Your Spell
Peter Grundstrom – Vocals
Jan Akesson – Guitars, Keyboards, Bass, Backing Vocals
with:
Jens Westberg – Drums
PRE-ORDER:
www.nehrecords.com/SHOP/SayOrion.htm
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