Album review: CONSTANCIA – Final Curtain

MelodicRock Records [Release date 10.07.15]

Swedish melodic rock band Constancia are back with their sophomore album ‘Final Curtain’ a full 6 years after their debut ‘Lost and Gone’ was released back in 2009.

The band was formed back in 2007 by keyboard wizard Mikael Rosengren and guitarist Janne Stark. Both are still present in the 2015 together with vocalist David Fremberg, drummer Peter Svensson and new bassist Linus Abrahamsson.

Almost every track on here is a winner. Opener Don’t Tread kicks proceedings off in style with its prominent keyboards and crisp guitar. Spectres follows…melodic rock with a twist and all the better for it.

Lucidia is probably the best track on offer being quite a complex, almost progressive, number that keeps things interesting. Hold On To My Heart is not the ballad you would expect but it a neat little foot-tapping number with ABBA-esque keyboards.

For Lies Within Lies Janne Stark lets his guitar rip…altogether now “Rise Up. Resist. Take Control.”

Way To Life and surprisingly title track Final Curtain suffer from a slight dip in quality and lack any truly memorable refrains.

The review copy came with 3 bonus tracks including the oddly named Greyhound Therapy and Wake Up Dreaming with its Bryan Adams like ticking drumbeat a la Run To You.

A winner at last! ‘Final Curtain’ is classy melodic rock that is just a little different from the run of the mill everyday Swedish garden variety – the vocals are just a little rough around the edges and the keyboards harken back to the glory days of the late ‘80s.

‘Final Curtain’ is a welcome return for Constancia, and one of the best releases I’ve heard from MelodicRock Records so far…let’s just hope that this is not the final curtain for the band… ****

Review by Phil Berisford

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)