Review by Richard Henry for MPM
Can you believe that it was in 2017 that the last Europe album, “Walk the Earth” came out? Nine years later we have the new album “Come this Madness”, finally upon us, I for one am very excited, having caught them on the previous album tour and also on the “Time Capsule” tour, they were absolutely on fire live, let’s get into this new one!
One on One
Immediately your transported off to Jurassic Park, with an orchestral cinematic intro hitting you right out of the gates, massive production, then a distorted bass line hits you from John Levin before the rest of the band comes crashing in, the last couple of albums have been very 70s rock, this seems more modern, Mic’s keys really dominating the verse with the guitar sitting a bit back in the mix, it’s when the chorus comes in the wall of vocals hit and there you have it, huge chorus one that will stick with you, just after the second chorus it’s a nice break back to the bass line that opens the song, there is a lovely part where the keys are on one side of the headphones and John Norum has a soaring melody line on the other side, beautiful solo there, really sticking to the melody with a couple of little runs around it, really playing for the song, before we get a break with just the keys and Joeys vocal, before the band bounce in again, this one really reminds me of something from the Prisoners in Paradise era of the band, just with how forward the keys are on it, great opener!
The Cult of Ignorance
Slams in this one, with a cool, synth melody coming in over the band, this is new sounding for these guys, almost like something you would expect from Stratovarius, just a pumping bassline when the band kick in, but as soon as you get to the verse it almost sounds like a synth bass part, with Mic adding all the layers around it, before the band kick in for the second half, it’s a massive sounding song, especially when it gets to the chorus part, ok so that riff, what if you crossed AC/DC with Def Leppard, just with the bassline and the drums, that is a chorus that an entire arena is going to be signing back to the band on the next tour, that middle section with the solo, lovely little arpeggiated guitar lines with a soaring melody, and a great little part to end it, before the pounding bass drum and guitar part comes back in again signaling we are back into the chorus, but a lovely touch is the way that the lead keyboard line makes its way back in as the song comes out of the chorus and the song comes to an end!
Come this Madness
The most guitar heavy intro so far, nice sliding riff there from Mr. Norum, that’s a mid-tempo head down rocker, again though the keys are massive in the mix surrounding the main riff, then just as you hit the verse, the band comes down in dynamics and you get the riff laying back a bit and Joeys vocals take over, there is a split second break before the chorus comes I with the title and it’s a wall of vocal, if your listening with headphones that second verse you have Joey in the middle and then another vocal off to the right, very cool effect, then the middle it just drops right down toa distorted bass note and Ian just pinging the ride cymbal as Joeys vocals get more delicate, some really nice playing from Mr. Levin in there as well, then the drums come in and a wash of electric piano come sin as well as the synth layers, then bang it just starts to build and some nice drum fill from Ian before we get into a section that reminds me of Rainbow, big and epic with a heavy riff and the synths enveloping around it, John rips on that solo, full of bluesy licks and massive bends, but still as he does, it has flash but never sounds flashy, that’s the difference, you know he can but he still keeps it for the song, then a brief stop and boom, right back into that chorus as the tempo picks up, I am three songs in and this album is so different to the last couple, in a great way!!
This Time of Year
Synths come in and then a slow beat comes in, walls of electric piano and synth are the first thing with the bass line underneath, massive sounding production, the verse carried at the start by the piano with Ian just keeping time on the ride cymbal, with Joeys soft vocal coming in over the top, full of vulnerability and emotion, the second half the drums come in now, an almost Beatles keyboard part as we are building into the chorus, now that is how you right a ballad, when that chorus come sin, you know you’re going to be singing along to that for ages, it doesn’t get any heavier but just gets even more massive, but the vocal hook is just awesome, great lyrics as well, Mic is defiantly the star of the show on this one, lovely playing on the verses and chorus, it is a Christmas song when you listen to the lyrics tinged with sadness on the last line, John keeping it restrained on the solo, then the last chorus has a key change, that is a beautiful song!
In a Different World
Mellotron intro and you can hear it building before the band come in, more riff heavy this song, with a proper driving tempo, this is like a War of Kings sort of feel and tempo, just grinds along, then you hit the chorus and it builds, really happy sounding feel to it, here’s to the future, is the refrain from it, there is a lovely little sliding guitar line come sin on the second chorus to change it round a bit, love that, there was a feel change there just for the solo to come in, really slinky little bassline and a half time groove, and a sort of half clean guitar comes in for the start of the solo, lovely feel on that first part of the solo before the band kicks in and there is that lovely smooth thick guitar sound as John absolutely flies on that solo, love the almost industrial sounding break before the band kicks right back into that massive chorus again, another banger of a track!
Scandinavian Eyes
Another track that has been released as a single, again the synth and keys taking a massive role in the intro to this one, almost cinematic, it just sounds huge, when the band kicks in it totally changed things, an almost Deep Purple sounding riff, with Bass/Guitar/Keys all playing in unison, this one is the heaviest track so far, totally guitar heavy, and I love that, when they hit the half time for then chorus, everything just opens up, especially on headphones, I have said it now a few times, Tom Dalgetys recording and Mike Frasers mix on this is massive sounding, this is another one that the keys, just surround the mix and explode on the chorus, yes, there is a synth solo, I love it, very Gates of Babylon feeling, eastern inspired feel, before John swoops in with a lovely melodic section, then climbs up higher, great feel, great tone and lovely melodic lines, before it all crescendos down into a really Pink Floyd sounding Moog key part before some unison lines come in then a break with the vocal and church organ before the last chorus adds more synths and a choir in there as well, huge!
Takin It Back
Dual guitar and synth melody intro, huge wall of synth pads underneath it, again this is new sounding, I am totally not expecting this at all, and I love it, so bear with me, this reminds me of tracks from Johns “Face the Truth” album, the pumping bassline and the sliding chord parts, it has that sort of energy about it, a really driving verse on this one, that little pre-chorus with the arpeggiated chord part really builds it up into the chorus, and these guys know how to right a chorus, California 405 sort of vibes to this one as well, c’mon John, bar dives, slides, fast scales, blues feel, it’s all there and then a really cool harmony from Mic and John to round out the solo section, that was class, back into the chorus, this is song of the album for me, without a doubt, an absolute blinder of a track!
In the Absence of Grace
A haunting piano starts this one off, sounds like it is sitting in the middle of a massive room, then Joey comes in with a subtle low vocal, then the synths and orchestral elements start to come in just to fill out the sound, again it’s like a soundtrack going on, Mic really is on serious form and is shining all over this record, it’s a minute and a half long song, but what is going on is a lot when you really listen to all the elements of it, outstanding!
The Angels Must Have Flown
A very spacy floaty guitar part comes in before a proper sledgehammer of a riff hits, just very direct with a simple beat over it, it’s halfway into the verse before the keys start to work their way in over the top, then as the pre-chorus comes in the guitars get more static and a wall of vocals come in, main vocal in the center and then the side of the headphones have the others, again, I can’t really say this sounds like any other Europe song, maybe like a Hole in My Pocket sort of driving riff for the verse, the chorus though is something else, so much to listen to in the mix, “here’s Johnny” you hear in the background, and there he is, soaring yet again, I have to say in the most of the album he is very restrained in the solos, just picking the right notes and melody instead of ripping, then back into the chorus as the song rounds out!
The Devils Back
Boom, the crash cymbals and riff comes in with the Hammond organ rounding out the stabs, before this lumbers in on a slow galloping groove, then it just breaks into a cleaner guitar part in the verse while the rest of the band maintains the groove, very soft low vocal from Joey, those little guitar stabs, sound like Africa by Toto, that is a proper chorus, aggressive in a Europe sort of way, so I am a massive John Norum fan, now he gets an extended solo and maybe for the first time on the album, he gets to cut loose a little bit, his solo tone is rich and thick, pulling off some nice fast licks in there but as always never sacrifices the melodic parts for pure flash, the way a solo should be, excellent, this track is another banger, loving this album so much!
Nothing Can Follow This
Soft keyboard intro again with a spoken word part from Joey delivering a message to us all, before the band kick in for a quick bit before we come back to that keyboard intro with the odd time drums and bass playing along with Joeys vocal, but then a split-second break and we get into yet another massive chorus, lovely eastern melody/riff section before the chorus refrain of nothing can follow this, that breakdown in the middle is so well done, massive wall of gang vocals, before we hit another John solo, again just so beautiful and melodic, nice phrasing in there as well and a really nice line to finish the solo, before we drop into the keys and Joey singing the start bit again before we are back to the chorus, great track to end the album with!
Its Europe, but it’s not the Europe that we have had on the last couple of albums, it’s definitely a different album and I love that, very much more keys and synth driven and Mic is all over this one, but there is more than enough Norum action to satisfy the guitar fans like me, loads of great riffs, full of hooky choruses, and the production on this album is massive, I loved it from start to finish!
10 out of 10
If you love this band, you will love this album, I cannot wait to see a tour announced to support this album because these tracks will be massive live!
Pre-orders are available now.
EUROPE are:
Joey Tempest – Lead Vocals
John Norum – Guitars
John Levén – Bass
Mic Michaeli – Keyboards
Ian Haugland – Drums
Follow EUROPE on:
www.facebook.com/europetheband
www.instagram.com/officialeuropetheband
