PIONEERS – In A State Of Rock [digitally remastered] (2021) HQ
Totally out of the blue and for surprise of many AOR and West Coast collectors there is a new reissue label in Norway which seems to have access to almost every Norwegian release from the 70s and 80s. As part of the ‘Norske Albumklassikere 80-tallet’ series we have here 1984’s ‘In A State Of Rock” from Norwegian rockers PIONEERS, remastered for the first time.
The year before Stage Dolls saw the light of day, PIONEERS released “In a State of Rock”: this was the band of future Stage Dolls founders Torstein Flakne (guitar) & Steinar Krokstad (Stage Dolls), joined by other renowned Norwegian musicians like Morten “Morty Black” Skaget (TNT, Vagabond, Åge,) Bard Svendsen (Åge, Sambandet) and Knut J. Dahle (Rocky).
PIONEERS delivered some kind of mix between the catchy melodic rock of the upcoming Stage Dolls and early 80s Pomp AOR with that Scandinavian feel; anthemic choruses ready for the arenas, something that catapulted Europe to stardom two years after. You can say these guys were ‘Pioneers’ indeed…
