Album review: HEARTS ON FIRE – Call Of Destiny

MelodicRock Records [Release date 19.10.18]

Hearts On Fire formed in 2017 by Jean Funes, guitarist of Sound Of Eternity. He said “This is the album I always wanted to make. Sound of Eternity had that modern rock touch all over it and I’m proud of the album we made. But Hearts On Fire we have all the elements that I’ve always loved from melodic rock music and it comes natural for me to create songs in this style, because I grew up listening to all these great bands from the 80’s and early 90’s.” He is joined by drummer Joel Mejia and on vocals Richard Andermyr (Rian). To give it that seal of melodic rock perfection Pink Cream 69′s Dennis Ward mixed and mastered the album, as well as playing bass and keyboards. There is also one other special guest, Eric Ragno on keyboards.

The title track and ‘Holding On’ open the album in fine style, be still by beating melodic rock heart at those keys and choruses! Yes it is nothing new, but Hearts On Fire do it so well and focus on the songs/melody each time. Plenty of guitar action to be had too as ‘Rainbow’s End’ ably demonstrates, both in the chunky riffs and solo.

There are of course ballads, pick of them being ‘Falling Into You’, that builds nicely to a heavier chorus. Elsewhere ‘Dancing In The Rain’ recalls late 80′s Dare, with the Europe-like ‘Lost In Paradise’ another highlight.

The production is spot on as you’d expect given Dennis Ward’s involvement, with Khymera coming to mind when listening to ‘Holding On’.

Nice little bonus song with an acoustic version of ‘Falling Into You’. The vocals of Richard Andermyr are something else on this one.

Jean Funes wanted to capture the classic melodic rock sound of the 80′s and 90′s, which he certainly achieved with this album. It is chock full of melodic hooks, layers of keyboards and that most important factor to any good melodic rock, a fine vocalist in Richard Andermyr. Brighten up your speakers today with some Hearts On Fire! ****

Review by Jason Ritchie

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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)