Label: Escape Music
Review by Tony Cannella
Erika Norberg has been a stunning presence in the world of AOR hard rock since 1990. Her debut album “Cold Winter Night” came out in 1990 and featured her then husband Yngwie Malmsteen guesting on the song “Emergency”. Since the released of that memorable debut, she has continued to release albums, but her last album “Ripe” came out way back in 1998. After being dormant (musically speaking) for 18 long years, Erika returns with a rocking brand-new album, “Deaf, Dumb and Blonde”. “Deaf, Dumb and Blonde” retains much of Erika’s AOR cache, but she has definitely heavied up her sound and the music contains more of an edge than I remember. There is also some star power guests on the album like ex-In Flames guitarist Jesper Strömblad, Europe keyboardist Mic Micheli and Tommy Denander. I have to say that I love the heavier direction of this album while still keeping the AOR elements intact. “Deaf, Dumb and Blonde” also is helped by great production, giving the album a full sound. Highlights include: “Killer”, “Heroes of Heartbreak”, “Sleeping With A Memory” and “Us Fools”. My absolute favorite song though is the rhythmic “Go Down”. Erika sings this song with a great deal of attitude and the song has this heavy riff going through it. “Go Down” is a great anthemic song. It certainly seems like 2016 is the year of the comeback and Erika’s re-emergence is surely a welcome site for fans of AOR hard rock and metal. Be sure to check out Miriam’s comprehensive interview with Erika and also be sure to check out “Deaf, Dumb and Blonde”.
Rating – 85/100
Tracklist
- Killer
- Heroes of Heartbreak
- Suckerpunch
- Drama
- Hearts Gone Bad
- Sleeping With a Memory
- Once Upon a Time
- Go Down
- Us Fools
- One For the Road
- Start Your Engine
- Warhoney
Line Up
- Erika – Vocals
- Redas Jefisovas – Vocals
- Oscar Bromvall – Vocals
- Marcus Blomberg – Vocals
- Tomas Blade – Vocals
- Lena Borg – Vocals
- Jesper Strömblad – Guitars & Bass
- Oscar Bromvall – Guitars
- Redas Jefisovas – Guitars
- Tommy Denander – Guitars
- Peter Rooth – Guitars
- Alex Angleflod – Guitars
- Johan Flodqvist – Guitars
- Marcus Blomberg – Bass
- Alex Angleflod – Keyboards
- Mic Michaeli – Keyboards
- Tommy Denander – Keyboards
- The Plura-Sex Society – Handclaps
- Sebastian Qvarfordt – Drums & Vocals
Links