Year : 2021
Style : Melodic Hard Rock , Melodic Rock
Country : Sweden
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 166 mb
Bio:
In 2018 Magnus Åkerlund (Blender) and Jan Hedlund (Coastline, Eagle Down) met up at Magnus’ studio to see if they could write music together. Both had played in numerous bands and played loads of different musical genres touring all over Sweden. Their true love however was melodic rock and AOR, so there was no guessing what kind of music they were aiming for. After an hour they had their first song ready. They scheduled a weekly writing session and each week a new song was written. Soon they came to realize that these songs had to be released and so Winding Road was born. In search for a singer, they didn’t have to look far. Jan’s old friend Jonas Tyskhagen (Incardine, Soxity, Yo Motherfucker, Bitches Brew) provided his soulful bluesy voice on one of the demos and the search for a singer was over. Guitar driven melodic rock with plenty of synths and a strong focus on the melodies was the concept when the album started to take shape. Great consideration was taken in choosing which songs should be included on the album aiming for a diverse song list with no fillers. They also asked Jonas' childhood friend (and friend of the band) Fredrik Folkare to do some guest guitar work and he provided a couple of killer solos on two of the songs. Winding Road has released three singles on Spotify which have been well received and have had airplay on Swedish radio, both national and regional. They also entered a competition on Swedish national radio and got to one of the finals. The album was produced, mixed and mastered by Magnus Åkerlund at Fieldgroove Studios. In December 2020 the band signed a deal with AOR Heaven for the release of their self-titled debut album.
Album:
The thriving Scandinavian melodic rock scene is not just one for young bucks. Winding Road are a new band in which three musicians with a long list of credits in their native Sweden have come together to play in their preferred style, though, judging from some of the names of previous bands in the press blurb, they may be following the Night Flight Orchestra in coming from a heavier background.‘It’s a Matter of Survival’ is a quietly impressive start, with Jonas Tyskhagen’s clear vocals and, though the song structure is very melodic, the lead guitar of Magnus Akerlund is prominent. However after starting promisingly with some stabbing keys ‘Summertime’, which goes for the same Survivor-influenced territory as contemporaries Perfect Plan, becomes a missed opportunity, being rather predictable with a flat chorus.Both the keyboardsy ‘Stranger in the Night ‘and ‘Call On Me’ have good choruses and the latter is prevented from slipping too far into an overly lightweight West Coast sound by some excellent guitar solos. This is a recurring theme and indeed the piano-led ballad ‘I Lost You’ is lifted by another fine solo, not to mention some parping keyboards!The sound is traditional, even dated with no attempt to emulate the more modern sounds of the Scandinavian contemporaries cited in the press release but, while low budget, Magnus’ production is refreshingly clear with the instruments clearly separated.However the likes of ‘Out of Control’, another laid back ballad in ‘Take Me As I Am’, ‘On my Own Again’ and ‘Shooting Star’ are innocuous and bland, verging on lacklustre.Indeed by the three quarter mark the album looks to be petering out into anti-climax until out of the blue comes the best by far in ‘Gotta Get Close to You’. A most enjoyable if predictable rocker in the mould of Joe Lynn Turner-era Rainbow, it is enlivened by a fun synth solo which borrows the melody of the mid-song section in Iron Maiden’s ‘Revelations’, then a guitar solo calling to mind John Norum in his most Schenker-influenced phase in the original Europe.It is part of a strong closing trio with the lush sounds of ‘Before It All Falls Down’ the pick of the three ballads and ‘We Can Run Away’ having the anthemic eighties quality of Survivor or Stan Bush.Indeed the band name could almost be an apt metaphor for an uneven album that is pleasant but at times meanders rather too gently before a rewarding end destination.
Line Up:
Jonas Tyskhagen - vocals (Incardine, Soxity, Yo Motherfucker, Bitches Brew)
Magnus Åkerlund - guitar (Blender)
Fredrik Folare - guitar
Jan Hedlund - drums (Coastline, Eagle Down)
Tracklist:
01. It’s a Matter Of Survival
02. Summertime
03. Call On Me
04. I Lost You
05. Out Of Control
06. Stranger In The Night
07. Take Me As I Am
08. On My Own Again
09. Shooting Star
10. Gotta Get Close To You
11. Before It All Falls Down
12. We Can Run Away
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
