In this mini playlist, I have grouped melodic rock and hard rock albums released in the last two weeks of May 2024 in varied atmospheres ranging from moderate AOR to powerful hard rock:
And to start this mini-playlist of 4 albums, what could be better than going to Sweden which is a great provider of rock and melodic hard rock training with 'Remedy' which released a first studio recording in 2022 (see here) and who offers us his new baby 'Pleasure Beats the Pain'. No surprise, this new opus follows the clear path of the first which was an uninterrupted series of hits, because you can take any title at random, and you will see that it could be the subject of a single. They have not forgotten the ballad which is a magnificent acoustic which concludes the album in the most beautiful way. 3 videos are available on YouTube: 'Crying Heart' (see here), 'Moon Has The Night' (see here) and 'Caught By Death' (see here). In short, fans of beautiful melodies that we want to listen to over and over, you can go there with your eyes closed because 'Remedy' shows once again that Sweden does not usurp its reputation as one of the best countries purveyor of melodic rock and hard rock bands...
For the second album, here are the Italians from 'Night Pleasure Hotel' who released their first studio recording on May 31 and who have already existed for around ten years during which they have played covers of artists such as 'Queen', 'Toto', 'Police' or 'AC/DC'. Compared to this list, they offer us refined AOR with very catchy melodies which makes me lean more towards the style of 'Toto' and we could add other names like 'Survivor', 'Foreigner' or even 'Journey' to take only the precursors of this type of music. The atmospheres released are shared between catchy compositions but also this first opus contains several more moderate titles which then flirt with international artists like 'Elton John' or 'Billy Joël' or even the 'Bee Gees', the choirs being omnipresent. Indeed, if in this style of music, you find that ballads are often relegated to second place, you will find what you are looking for because half of the album is devoted to them: first of all 'We Say Goodbye' looks towards the best ballads of Elton John' (see the video here), then, 'Walking Through The Horizon', more powerful while keeping a slow tempo, continues on this path. In this style we can also add 'Sweet Melodies of Rain', 'What I Feel', 'Suddenly' and the bonus track which closes the album sung in Italian, 'Quella Sera' showing that the Italians have that little extra for us lay down beautiful romantic melodies. Two other videos are available on you tube: 'Niko (see here) and 'Just This Once' (see here). In short, this first album from the Italians 'Night Pleasure Hotel' is very promising and takes us into refined AOR which is filled with melodic jewels which make it irresistible to listen to them over and over.
So that there is something for all tastes, after the sweetness of the melodies of 'Night Pleasure Hotel', here is the energy of the Swiss 'Black Diamonds' who are releasing their second album 'Destination Paradise', after 'No-Tell Hotel' of 2021. First of all, the first tracks set the scene for a very muscular and melodic hard rock with the up-tempo 'Through Hell and Back' which puts us in the mood with well-saturated guitar riffs, then, 'After The Rain' takes us on board in a mid-tempo with a well-defined rhythm and with choirs like 'Def Leppard' and 'Everyday Heroes' drives the point home with a very melodic title with a unifying chorus. What follows is like the start of the album with catchy and effective hard rock jams which follow one another, and which could each have been the subject of a single. And when the light dims, 'Only A While' is the ballad that makes us all crack up with the little guitar solo that goes well (see the video here). You can watch two other videos on YouTube: 'After The Rain' (see here) and 'Rock'N Roll Is My Religion' (see here). In summary, it's another beautiful album that the Swiss 'Black Diamonds' offer us with, not black Diamonds but very sparkling Diamonds with addictive melodies that put us in shape for a whole day.
We end this mini playlist with the American 'Phil Vincent' who is the initiator of numerous projects and who is releasing a new melodic hard rock album under the D'Ercole banner. 'Near Death Experience' continues the adventure of the previous albums 'Quantum 8' from 2022 and 'Mass Formation' from 2023. No surprise, we find this subtle mix between energetic hard rock and other compositions with some forays into progressive rock (let's not forget that the American participates in the 'Forest Field' project by 'Peter Cox' who will release a new album in June). The first titles take us to the heart of the matter with 'Lone Survivor' which pours out a well-paced and powerful mid-tempo (see the video here), then, ' Can't Hide the Truth' continues with another strong hard rock blast which gives an irresistible desire to headbang with an introduction which can make one think of the firepower of 'Status Quo', and 'Live to Another Day' is again in the same punchy style. In the same energetic atmosphere, we can also cite 'Turn Back Now', 'Psalm 1:7' and 'Until It's Gone' but the American also offers us other more varied compositions with first of all, 'Holy Ground ' which is close to 9 minutes and which shows several faces while remaining direct and effective hard rock, then 'Cryin' Over You' concludes the album with a long ballad which allows us to add a touch of progressive with long instrumental parts in the second half of the track highlights the talent of guitarist 'Damian D'Ercole' in the final guitar solo. Also note the very successful cover of 'Healin'' by Uriah Heep' from the album 'Sweet Freedom' from 1973 which is "slightly" more energetic and faster, but which benefits from very beautiful choirs. In summary, 'Phil Vincent' with his project 'D'Ercole' continues at a frequency of one album every year to offer us direct and effective compositions and this 'Near Death Experience' should please all fans and everyone. lovers of good, direct and effective hard rock... | |
