After 'Ninja' in 2017 (see here), the Norwegians of 'Pristine' come back with a new studio album 'Road Back to Ruin' and continue in the way they had traced with the latest opus. We find influences of the 70s between blues, rock and hard-rock starting with an energetic 'Sinnerman' with a central keyboard solo very 'Purplulien' and the confirmation that ‘Heidi Solheim' is still at the top with her voice. The eponymous title of the album that follows takes us back to the beginning of 'Led Zeppelin' with a slow tempo and a very heavy sound where Heidi still shows the best just like in 'Bluebird' with its swaying rhythm and then 'Landslide' is a blues/rock that the 'Stones' wouldn’t have denied. The first break is brought by the beautiful ballad 'Aurora Skies' quite bare where Heidi embarks us on a small cloud, then the energetic side restarts again with 'Pioneer' which is a classic hard-rock but so effective and has a memorable chorus. The following scrolls the powerful 'Blind Spot' and its tormented rhythm, 'The Sober' which sends us back to an effective 70s hard-rock, then, the very sensual blues, 'Cause and Effect', where Heidi demonstrates once again that she can also compete with the best blues singers, 'Your Song' and its country style and finish a super-vitamin 'Dead End' and on the Spotify version a live version of 'Ghost Chase' from the album 'Ninja' which allows to realize the live quality of this band. In summary, the Norwegians of 'Pristine', led by 'Heidi Solheim' who once again demonstrates that she can tackle all repertoires, release an excellent album that takes us back a few decades back with an irreproachable modern sound and 'Road Back to Ruin' is a summary of different styles of the seventies that should appeal to all those who love this period but is also accessible to a wide audience... | |
