THE MAGNIFICENT / THE MAGNIFICENT (2011)

Once again, it seems that Scandinavia is the promised land for high-quality Melodic Hard Rock releases. The new discovery is The Magnificent! The band consists of Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus) on lead vocals and Torsti Spoof (Leverage) on guitars. What we have here is a well-crafted and extremely Melodic Rock stuff with a strong dose of 80's arena-size AOR with some modern Melodic Hard Rock elements.
 
The album kick starts with the brilliant tune of "Holding On To Your Love". A 'punchy' old-fashioned rocker with a huge chorus line and a great riff and solo. "Cheated By Love" is a key-driven anthemic track with an amazing chorus and some killer guitar work! An absolute winner from this album. "Memories"  is up-tempo and brings back some memories of the glory 80's. Probably one of the catchier songs here! "Angel" is a slower one with a strong melody while "Satin & Lace" brings back the up-beat rhythm with its very good arrangements and the passionate performances! "Love's On The Line" and "Bullets" both have great choruses and excellent melodies. "Smoke & Fire" has a nice groove and "Tired Of Dreaming" is another fine example of Euro Melodic Rock stuff with attitude and strong harmonies! The rest of the tracks are all very good with very good arrangements and catchy melodies!

Overall, this is an extremely interesting release. It has huge melodies, inspired guitar riffs and solos, passionate performances and a tight songwritting. For the fans of 80's arena-size AOR with a 'modern' melodic rock touch, this is a MUST have album!

HeavyParadise's Rating : 8/10

TRACK LIST :  01 - Holding On To Your Love, 02 - Cheated By Love, 03 - Memories, 04 - Angel, 05 - Satin & Lace, 06 - Love's On The Line, 07 - Bullets, 08 - Smoke & Fire, 09 - Tired Of Dreaming, 10 - If It Takes All Night, 11 - Lost, 12 - Harvest Moon