Label : Avenue of Allies
Review by Tony Cannella
It’s been a few years since the Swedish Hard Rock band Alyson Avenue were heard from. To be honest, I wasn’t sure this band even still existed. Their last album “Omega” was released in 2004, and was the last to feature current Nightwish vocalist Anette Olzon. Thankfully, the band did not decide to pack it in. Instead, they found a new singer in Arabella Vitanc and recorded a new album, with the fruits of their labor being this album “Changes”. Fans who have heard the previous two albums from Alyson Avenue should not expect a huge musical shift on “Changes”. The band is very good at what they do and they more or less stick with the formula that they are comfortable with. New vocalist Arabella injects the music with a strong, smooth and expressive voice and the songs really have an infectious quality. From the opener of “Liar” the band fires on all cylinders and their time away did nothing to diminish their knack for writing catchy melodic hard rock music. The next track “Will I Make Love” features a cool duet between Arabella and German singer Michael Bormann, this track definitely stood out for me. In addition to the contribution of Mr. Bormann, “Changes” also features a number of other guest appearances, the most notable one being Anette Olzon who provides background vocals on “Liar”, “Into the Fire”, “Always Keep on Loving You” and “Fallen”. “Fallen”, in particular is a real standout track thanks to its memorable chorus, but the same can also be said for “Into the Fire”. “I Will Be Waiting” is another highlight and the vocal work by Arabella is just incomprehensibly awesome, I think it is safe to say that Alyson Avenue made the right choice of singers. What is there to say about Alyson Avenue? They are just an excellent band that excels at producing up-tempo, melodic hard rock with some serious hooks and infectious melodies, “Changes” is a perfect example of this. Welcome back!
Rating – 95/100
Tracklist
- Liar
- Will I Make Love
- Changes
- Amazing Days
- Don’t Know If Love Is Alive
- Fallen
- Into the Fire
- I Will Be Waiting
- I’ll Cry For You
- Somewhere
- Always Keeps On Loving You
Line Up
- Arabella Vitanc – Lead & Backing Vocals
- Tony Rohtla – Guitars
- Niclas Olsson – Keyboards & Backing Vocals
- Thomas Löyskä – Bass & Guitar
- Fredrik Eriksson – Drums
Links