All fears are allayed; all ridiculously high expectations are met.
The Erik Gronwall fronted H.E.A.T delivered 4 of my favourite albums of the last 20 years. I was gutted when he left, but my biggest fear was that as a fan, I wouldn’t get another album like the now much loved H.E.A.T records as Erik moved on to whatever musical path he chose.
So my obvious desire for this album was that it just sounded ‘like Erik’; that pure melodic voice. Not the metal guy, or the covers guy – because in reality Erik can sing anything, anywhere, anytime and make it sound good.
Melodic rock is the sound we’ve come to love and that’s exactly what this album delivers big time.
‘Bad Bones’, is I think Erik’s ‘real’ debut solo album despite recording two earlier records for Sony Music following his Swedish Idol win. One featured the songs sung on the TV series and the other was largely session writers.
This is totally Erik Gronwall. It isn’t an ‘instant’ album despite the obvious hooks. It takes a few listens to find its groove and then even more to get to know all the intricacies of the songwriting. But it is so very rewarding.
Stylistically ‘Bad Bones’ delves into all areas of Erik’s career to date. The sound is close to H.E.A.T, with touches of the band’s evolution in sound, while also taking in some new influences and that grittier hard rock sound heard with Skid Row and New Horizon.
By now you’ve heard ‘Born To Break’ and ‘Bad Bones’, two high energy tracks that sum up the album – powerful singing, but never over the top; multiple hooks and killer guitar work.
The moody groove of ‘Praying For A Miracle’ is sonic gold for me, but the unexpected chorus anthem, bathed in melodies is pure heaven.
The big Queen-esque pomp-ballad ‘Who’s The Winner Now’ needs to be all over radio, while ‘Lost For Life’ offers a different twist on mid-tempo melodic anthems.
‘Twisted Lullaby’ sounds like a song that would comfortably slide onto the darker Into The Great Unknown record.
The next few tracks are where the album takes a grittier turn, and to these ears, any of these tracks might have fit into a new Skid Row album.
Closing out the album is a sultry, warm and somewhat haunting track ‘Written In The Scars’. Another side of Erik’s monster voice is showcased here and it’s a perfect end to the album.
Beautifully produced, superbly performed, expertly written and passionately executed. Ten tracks at around 3 minutes a piece, there is no room for anything less than perfection.
