Album review : CREYE – IV Aftermath

Frontiers Music [Release date : 24.04.26]

Scandi band Creye hit their stride with their fourth album, Aftermath, delivering melodic rock of depth and width, polished, full of neat gearshifts, and verses as strong as the choruses, just about.

The fact that it’s self produced deserves an accolade or two. It’s a step up from their previous album, Weightless. It seems that the band’s founder, songwriter, guitarist, Andreas Gulstrand is proving himself to be something of a star at the studio mixing desk. Plus you get the distinct impression that the label has bumped up the production budget.

While the songwriting and production craft are impressive, Creye’s real trick is merging the past with the present, Aftermath captures a moment in time, when AOR became a cultural phenomenon, and combines it with the intense, pomp tinged sound of slick boybands of today, where each chorus is a dynamic, poppified force of nature.

‘Rust’ and ‘Glow’ are the more obvious examples, where AOR and contemporary pop walk a high wire between genres. The risk is worth it . . . they get the balance just right. Each is signed off with a euphoric axe solo that comes to an abrupt and rapturous end, like they’re giving themselves a round of applause.

The music is warm, high toned throughout, with just enough of a ragged edge to give it character and credibility.

Each track is solidly constructed within a guitar driven framework, with a few – like ‘Left In Silence’ and ‘Bad Romance’ – reaching for what Mark Mangold called “that awesome melodic moment”.

In turn spilling over into ‘Something Missing’ and ‘Through The Window’, the best songs that Harem Scarem never wrote. These will make you dig out Mood Swings. Again.

‘Aligned’ is a nice surprise, coming late in the running order, jolting us to attention with a declamatory, stadium filling pop song that insists we go back to track 1 and start again. Perfect ending. ****

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 13 April 2026

DOGMA Fate Unblinds (MNRK Heavy)
SEVENDUST Threshold (Napalm Records)
OH HIROSHIMA Broken Sunlight (Pelagic Records)
HARSH Back To Life (Fireflash Records)
KING KRAKEN Call To War (indie)
HIGHWAY QUEEN Bring Me Home Tonight (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 13 April 2026

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)

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