By DJ Monk
Definitely, and defiantly, one of the coolest, and most talented – not to say successful – Scandinavian melodic rock acts of the past decade or so, it would seem surprising that H.E.A.T would append the epithet ‘II’ to the title of their latest album. But, then, they do view this, their latest opus, as something of a rebirth after a somewhat stagnant period, at least creatively. It’s the first album to be produced by the band themselves, thus seeing them totally in charge of their own destinies, and has them declaring that this is them going back to their roots: “This is what we would sound like if we made a debut album in 2019, hence the title”.
Well, if that was their intention, then they most definitely have succeeded, as ‘H.E.A.T II’ oozes icy coolness in every drop of it’s snotty confidence: in fact, it could be said that that confidence borders on arrogance – but, when you’ve poured your heart and soul into a collection of songs that swagger, strut and raise a middle finger to every pretender not just on their block but on every street corner from Stockholm to the Strip and back again, then you can afford to have an arrogance about your music, as it stands up and fights for itself on every level.
‘H.E.A.T II’ is definitely the sign of a band re-invigorated and ready to take new prisoners. For a start, the sound on the album is absolutely HUGE – and in every single department, from the individual and collective performances to the actual production itself, which just makes each and every song wash over you like a warm tidal wave on a summer’s evening, drawing you into their beauty and resonance. Erik Grönwall’s vocals are simply stunning, exuding genuine passion and a renewed fire in his belly to produce some of the best recordings he has made: the fact that his voice is obviously maturing with age adds to the effect of this being a performer approaching the height of his powers. It’s a magnificent performance from a magnificent performer.
Not that the rest of the band are any slouches either… Dave Dalone’s combination of crunching riffs and soaring melodies accent every aspect, Jimmy Jay and Crash hold down the bottom end with their characteristic aplomb and panache, while Jona Tee has enough musical nous to make sure his keyboards emphasize rather than over-ride the overall feel of the material, occasionally poking through with a cheeky leer just to make sure we know he’s there in the background, prodding his guitarist to take things to the next level.
It may be cold outside, but we can rely on the Swedes to turn the H.E.A.T up to maximum, proving once again why the Scandinavians are consistently producing some of the best damn feckin’ melodic rock ‘n’ roll on the planet.
- ‘H.E.A.T II’ is released tomorrow (Friday 21 February). You can get your copy HERE.
H.E.A.T play the following dates in Über Kingdom later this year:
- Thursday 28 May – Wolverhampton, KK’s Steel Mill
- Friday 29 May – London, Garage
- saturday 30 May – Swansea, Patti Pavilion
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