If your musical interests do not expand beyond
those of super technically proficient then you may as well
stop reading this review right now. If you are a rock fan
then read on. 'Trading Souls' is guitarist Rolf Munkes second
album under the Empire name. The bands debut album featured
Mark Boals on vocals on several tracks, but this there second
see ex Black Sabbath vocalist Tony Martin handle all vocal
responsibilities. Anders Johansson plays drums on a two tracks
- hence the link to Yngwie.
Empire basically specialise in classic sounding
hard rock that runs the gamut of commercial to classic. The
songs all have very strong melody lines and Martin's vocals
are impeccable throughout. Rolf Munkes guitar work is very
much in the vein of 'for the song' as opposed to boosting
his own personal ego and he proves himself to be a very competent
player with a good knack for knocking out a memorable riff
and chord progression. Don Airey (Deep Purple/ex Rainbow)
handles all keyboards and he makes nice use of a variety of
sounds - hammond to orchestral backing, all giving the tracks
a nice atmospheric base. The rhythm section is held down by
bassist Neil Murray (Whitesnake/Black Sabbath amongst many
others) and drums are handled by the aforementioned Johansson
and Gerald Kloos. The production of the album is very clear
and powerful, the mix is impeccable.
My personal favorites are the heavier darker numbers,
Pay Back Time has a great chorus
that whilst not being radio commercial is catchy enough to
have you humming it back to yourself later on.
The second half of the album is where the band
really hit their stride with some well worked out classic
rock that convey the darker element once again whilst managing
to keep an eye on melody.
You manages to combine
the Swedish hard rock pound of bands like Damned Nation.
Perfect Singularity
(cool title) which allows room for Martin's vocal to breathe
to maximum effect and its quite Dio in phrasing before the
pre-chorus see the mood lighten a listen which in turn changes
again for the commercial chorus.
Wherever You Go sees
the album really hitting its stride and the elements of the
bands sound seem to come together here, the chorus is superb
and sounds very original, Munkes throws in some nice dirty
guitar work and wah drenched unison bends to create a Tony
Iommi (Black Sabbath) vibe and its my favourite track of the
album.
The only thing that lets this album down are the
ballads which are a little sickly and Bon Jovi esque in places.
Tony Martin even sounds like Jon Bon in places! These are
easily enough skipped past, but hey it may make your girlfriend
let you listen to some rock!?
Overall 'Trading Souls' is a strong album in the
classic rock mold yet with a modern edge and great production.
