Reviews: Honeymoon Suite, Roulette, Hearts On Fire, First Light (Matt Bladen)

Honeymoon Suite - Wake Me Up When The Sun Goes Down (Frontiers Music Srl)

AOR on the whole is about nostalgia, bands trying to recapture the genre’ glory days of the 80’s and pre-grunge 90’s, even in the modern era, the bands who are the most popular effortlessly fuse the melodic rock of that era with modern production. Honeymoon Suite are OG’s (as the kids say formed by vocalist Johnnie Dee in 1981, he was joined by Derry Greham on guitars, Dave Betts on drums and Gary LaLonde on bass. The Canadian band experienced immediate success taking home numerous accolades throughout the decade, including being featured in number of shows and movies, there was turmoil in the 90’s but in the early 2000’s Peter Nunn joined on keys and this line up is the one that stands up today. 

Post pandemic they have hit a bit of purple patch along with producer and co-writer Mike Krompass, who has worked with Steven Tyler, Theory Of A Deadman and Smash Mouth, returning with their eighth album Alive only a couple of years ago, but this record was much faster in production again working with Krompass, they’ve released a melodic rock album that doesn’t really do nostalgia, yeah there’s nods to contemporaries such as Def Leppard on Stay This Time, but a lot of this record is very modern, like American FM radio rock of today. 

Tracks such as Every Minute, Way Too Fast, Crazy Life and Live On, feel as if they’ve come from the early-mid 2000’s similar to Nickelback, Theory Of A Deadman et al than any of the 80’s AOR greats. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but after a long time, it may alienate some that they’re going a bit too modern on this record. Still it’s a band in their 40th year staying relevant so you can’t hold that against them, I just like a little more nostalgia. 7/10

Roulette - Go! (Black Lodge)

With all the focus on the new wave of Scandinavian bands playing melodic rock and AOR it's often easy to overlook the bands who have been there since the beginning, formed in 1985 in Sundsvall, Sweden Roulette have been one of the leading lights in the Swedish AOR scene since then drawing comparisons to Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi and Def Leppard (Better, Walk Away), all of which appear here but I'd also say there's a lot of Graham Bonnet in there too, in the vocals especially. 

They, like so many bands from the 80's era have had multiple road blocks put in their way, a name change, a failed record deal and then a proper reformation under the Roulette name in 2015, releasing 'comeback' record Now! in 2019. With much critical acclaim for that one, the train was firmly back on the tracks and with a successful headline tour in 2022 it was time to record again, the result being Go! A new record of slick, melodic rock with a blues base (Don't Be Sorry). 

The melodies are riddled with hooks, the choruses are huge and the performances befitting a band celebrating their 40th anniversary this year. With anthemic moments such as Answer To My Prayers and We Remember You and strutting rockers such as Strangers and Brand New Start, the guitars ring out with passion, the keys layering the atmosphere, the rhythm section thick and boisterous as the vocals have a grit and power perfect for precision AOR. 

Bands such as H.E.A.T and Eclipse owe their existence to the scene Roulette and Europe created so it's no wonder then why there's plenty to love on Go! if you're a fan of those bands. Spin the wheel, this record always lands on red! 7/10

Hearts On Fire – Signs & Wonders (Pride & Joy Music)

Seven years since their debut Hearts On Fire pull out the big guns by recruiting Mark Boals as their singer, having sung for Yngwie Malmsteen, Ring Of Fire and Royal Hunt amongst many others, melodic rock is very much his wheelhouse and with Boals behind the mic, Hearts On Fire show they mean business on their second album. Add to this that they’ve also brought in Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69, Magnum) on bass and mixing/mastering duties, there’s a definite shift in what Silent Tiger/Sound Of Eternity guitarist and band founder Jean Funes wants from Hearts On Fire. On the debut he brought in Silent Tiger bandmate Joel Mejía for the drums, he sticks around for this follow up by Khymera/The Babys man Eric Ragno takes the keys further solidifying that Hearts On Fire are trying to mature their sound. 

So what does Signs & Wonders sound like? Well it’s a more insistent, heavier record than their debut, the impact of Boals can be felt on the first song, as that melodic rock/power metal history shows through, as he effortlessly lets loose on opener Signs In The Sky, the driving gallop of Ward’s bass featured on the rage against the modern day of Collective Mind before they get back to AOR on Lights And Shadows and the ballad Stay In This Moment. Funes’ guitar playing is brilliant, you can feel every bit of his soul come through on interlude Blood Moon before the rock revs up again for Eleventh Hour, his production giving everyone equal room to impress as Ward provides that ‘big’ mix he’s got nailed after many years, just listen to Restless Heart. 

Signs & Wonders is the sound of band having a re-brand, if you read about them you’ll see that Funes thought their debut album was better than his previous Sound Of Eternity project he was part of, well I’d hazard a guess that with high profile featured members joining, he’s trying to better the debut with a more rounded, version of this new band. I’d say mission accomplished as this album is full of Signs & Wonders that point to greatness. 8/10

First Light – Elemental (Pride & Joy Music)

Produced by Pete Newdeck (Vega) and mastered Harry Hess (Harem Scarem), First Light are British based AOR band who came together during the pandemic over the interweb as friends Dave Hardman (guitar) and Carl Sharples (bass), indulged in their love of AOR/melodic rock inspired by bands such as FM, Giant, Foreigner and Journey, recorded and written digitally as Dave lives in Spain and Carl in the UK, there’s a tightness in this record, it feels collaborative despite being composed across different screens as vocalist Warren Passaro is a New York native while Brit Andy Jakeman takes up the drum sticks. 

It’s a record brimming with talent and a love for this style of music, slick and soulful there’s plenty of go in the rhythms and emotion in the lyrics while the keys/synths/organs are provided by certified AOR legend Didge Digital of FM, bringing a sense of Styx on Mesmerising. His inclusion shows that despite being a band who formed remotely there’s a lot of history between the two founders and the UK melodic rock scene. On the back of their mini album, the heat was on to make sure this debut full length was just as good and they’ve managed to knock it out of the park.

With singalong such as Dammed If You Do, Dammed If You Don’t, the nostalgic Forever Young, the dramatic Mayday which feels a bit like Asia, while the Americanisms come on strong for ballad Leave A Light On. Elemental will be a treat for AOR fans as it’s a record with a strong lineage to the AOR and UK AOR in particular, buried in the blues/soul but wrapped up in lacquered guitar driven sound, Elemental is a strong debut. 8/10