Thunderstruck Records (Release date 25.08.23)
Skagarack were, alongside Fate, the Danish standard bearers in the original Scandinavian melodic rock explosion of the late eighties. I was a big fan, seeing them at the old Marquee and even picking up albums that were only available on import (notably the classic ‘Hungry For A Game’) when I went on holiday to Copenhagen.
Having reformed (or at least the two principal band members) they face the same challenge as contemporaries Europe and Treat – the eighties material was very much of their time, so do they try and keep pace with the new generation of Scandi bands, or evolve their style accordingly to something more suitable to this phase of their career?
Opener ‘Give It’ is a decent song and does not depart too far from traditional melodic rock but Torben Schmidt’s voice has not aged well – he still operates in a higher range but like many with a similar style- fellow Scandi great Jim Jidhed of Alien a case in point- age has rendered it a bit tired and weary. This is particularly felt on the title track and ‘Where Have You Been’ which would otherwise been melodic gems.
‘Peace of Mind (To Have a Good Time) has a lolloping beat and slightly bluesier feel, while ‘Talking ‘Bout Jesus’ is probably the best song on view: the lyrics are not always easy to make out but appear to be a satire on televangelists while a longer than normal song sees guitarist Jan Petersen (the only other original member) belatedly going off on a solo.
His solos are generally good but the riffs on the likes of ‘A Cool Damn Car’ just sound dated and at other times, notably ‘Changing’, the tempo is just too plodding. Eight songs in comes a first real change of pace in ‘Be With You Forever’, a ballad with a bluesy solo, but it’s just dull.
From there on the only thing to hold the attention was to work out whether ‘Ain’t Got Nothing to Lose’ was more of rip off of Brian Howe era Bad Company or the Eagles ‘Victim of Love’.
The musical style should be up my street, combining AOR with Whitesnake and early eighties Rainbow influences, but the whole album comes over as tired and lacking in energy. Try as I might I can’t get enthused by this album – maybe those fond memories should have been confined to the past. ** 3/4
Review by Andy Nathan
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