Album review: CHRIS ROSANDER – King Of Hearts

May 10th, 2020 by jason

AOR Heaven [Release date 26.06.20]

Christian Rosander is a 22-year-old musician and songwriter from Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. Since he was 14 years old, he’d been writing songs in the AOR/Melodic and Westcoast genre. To be fair you’d been pretty certain the music on here is AOR friendly due to a) the label and b) the album title which is also the name of a highly revered band in the AOR/melodic rock world.

He states: ”The recording of this album is a journey that began back in the autumn of 2017 when I was still studying at college. My roots emerge from the Classic Rock/Hard Rock & Metal genres but when it came to writing my own songs, I’ve always been drawn to the Westcoast/AOR/Melodic Rock genre. During my time at school, all I did was practicing, especially jazz standards. Somewhere along the way, I started to put more jazzier chords and harmonies into my songs, and that’s how I discovered my sound. The first song I wrote for this album was Can’t Let Go, The rest of the tracks came as the time passed by.”

It always warms the cockles of an aging melodic rock fan that youngsters still discover and enjoy this type of music. Christian Rosander certainly knows his way around a memorable riff and chorus, as opener ‘Online’ proves. Plenty of keys/synths too to keep the air keyboard fans amongst us happy!

‘Don’t Look Back’ comes across as a mix of 80’s Toto and H.E.A.T. His keyboards playing and guitar riffs are impressive on this, and indeed the whole album. Toto influences can be heard throughout the album, including the title track which features an impressive guitar solo.

An accomplished debut, certainly one that will appeal to lovers of keyboards led Scandinavian AOR/melodic rock. Oh, and did I mention the keys on this album? Parptastic! ***1/2

Review by Jason Ritchie

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 16 November 2025.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This 600th show was first broadcast on 18 November 2025

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 1 December 2025

We feature all the artists selected in this sequence in 2025.

Featured Albums w/c 1 December 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.

If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:

If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device

(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.