REVIEW : C.O.P. – State Of Rock (2015)

C.O.P. is a new band that comes from Sweden and with "State Of Rock" is aiming for big things. The guys in C.O.P. are into the melodic rock scene for quite a long time. Front-man Peter Sundell has graced a number of highly revered albums over the years. His work with Grand Illusion, Decoy and recently, Starlight Brigade, has made AOR fans from all over the world, in awe over his high pitched and powerful voice.

Peter’s younger brother Christian was, also, part of the Grand Illusion family and the third and last part of the C.O.P equation consists of Peter and Christian’s long lost little brother Ola af Trampe, an extremely talented guitarist, producer and songwriter, also of Grand Illusion, Code and The Killbilly 5’ers fame.

So, these three musicians created C.O.P. and as I already mentioned above they are ready to rock our world with their powerful melodic rock stuff! The sound of C.O.P. is movin' between melodic rock and Scandi-Hard Rock with beautiful melodies, strong arrangements, superb keys, nice guitars and of course amazing vocal lines thanks to Mr. Peter Sundell's great vocal abilities!

The record starts with the amazing "Loner"; a great melodic monster that takes no prisoners with its sweet and powerful melody and Sundell's high-pitched vocals that reminds Tony Harnell. Excellent start and for sure a great appetizer of what's to follow! "I Want The World To Know" kicks-off with a neo-classical guitar riff and when it comes to chorus the song explodes into a another highlight! "Nightmare" is a fast-paced, up-tempo rocker while in "Without You" we have the first ballad of "State Of Rock". "On The Run", "In My Dreams" and "In The Night" are all great samples of C.O.P.'s music that showing the talent of this band.

If you are into melodic hard rock/AOR stuff with attitude and a more metallic edge, then, please do yourself a favor and check out C.O.P. One of the true highlights of 2015!!

Rating : 9,5/10

Track Listing :
1. Loner, 2. I want the world to know, 3. Nightmare, 4. Without you, 5. On the run, 6. In my dreams, 7. She’s gone, 8. In the night, 9. Broken Heart, 10. Darkness