Black Lodge Records [Release Date 25.07.25]
Swedish melodic rockers Roulette have had a chequered history- around since the eighties, they never got as far as releasing an album till 2008. It was another eleven years before a very well received album of contemporary material, the suitably titled ‘Now’ appeared. So, another one word album has been a ‘mere’ six years in the coming.
Singer Thomas Lundgren has a deep and at times gruff, though always melodic voice and indeed, on opener ‘Answer To My Prayers’ he comes over like Uriah Heep’s John Lawton. They make no effort to emulate the modern sounds of the current Scandinavian generation; this is old-school melodic hard rock.
The one health warning is that the album is very similarly paced with only differences of nuance in the songs. Most are also on the short side which means they go straight to verse and chorus and have little time to develop- on the other hand this makes for a lean album devoid of padding.
Yet after initially being only modestly impressed by the likes of ‘Fire In Your Eyes’, ‘Strangers’ and ‘Brand New Start’ really grew on me. The song that stands out most is ‘We Remember You’ whose teasing power chords and nostalgic lyrics make it a distant cousin of ‘Summer of 69’.
Two songs benefit from having a slightly longer running time to develop in ‘What Are We Looking For’ which has a slight pomp rock feel, and Take Me As I Am’, which threatened at the start to be the album’s sole ballad.
A later couple in ‘Don’t Be Sorry’ and ‘She Can’t Hide’ have very lively choruses- though the latter begins with a classic keyboard intro, generally they just provide colour in the background to quite a guitar heavy album, providing another contrast with the young Turks of Scandinavian AOR. Closer ‘Better Walk Alone’ is a slice of bluesy hard rock which reminds me of fellow countrymen Perfect Plan, just not quite as good.
It’s not a spectacular album but a real grower, and confirming the impression I got when I saw them at Malmo Melodic last year, a thoroughly likeable one. ****
Review by Andy Nathan
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.
PDF - you can delete unwanted sections
