H.E.A.T - Force Majeure (2022)

[KarpetRydOFunk]

3 hours ago, lettard said:

Soooo...does he think its any good or not? 

I dunno. There aren't enough exclamation marks to be certain. 

[AlphaMale]

Is that Andrew?? 100% score??

[melodicrock]

3 hours ago, AlphaMale said:

Is that Andrew?? 100% score??

No and no.

[auslander]

Well it scored 10/10 in every category on that review so it must be H.e.a.t's "Dark Side of the Moon". 

[sirlemonhead]

Thank you for the free CD I got to listen to before everyone else! 10/10

[melodicrock]

4 hours ago, sirlemonhead said:

Thank you for the free CD I got to listen to before everyone else! 10/10

Most of these blogs are all 10/10 for everything...and reviewed the day after the promos are delivered. Real in depth stuff!

[AlphaMale]

On 7/6/2022 at 7:14 PM, melodicrock said:

Most of these blogs are all 10/10 for everything...and reviewed the day after the promos are delivered. Real in depth stuff!

That's why we love you bro. More indepth analysis.

[AlphaMale]

Anybody heard this yet? It's already on the pirate sites.

 

[AlphaMale]

Here's the write up on it:

Swedish ’80s inspired Melodic Hard Rock heroes H.E.A.T return next Friday with new studio album “Force Majeure” and with its 11 golden tracks the guys deliver the rockin’ summer soundtrack for 2022.

Two years after “H.E.A.T II,” the band once again presents an album that simply… kicks ass. Since the band’s early days, starting from their song “1000 miles” – a huge hit in their Scandinavian home in 2009, the press and fans has been praising each of the band’s albums as one of the best rock albums in its respective year of release.

Now H.E.A.T returns with their original lead-singer Kenny Leckremo, taking everyone on an adrenaline ride through ‘H.E.A.T City’. Not only sonically but also visually the band cranks it up a notch. For the music videos as well as the whole art theme & aesthetic, a vibrant fictional world has been built, creating an exciting surrounding for the band’s energetic album.

“Force Majeure” is Melodic Rock close to perfection – into everyone’s Best Of list of the year for sure.

”Force Majeure” is the first album in over a decade to feature H.E.A.T’s original vocalist Kenny Leckremo, it’s borderline impossible not to like him. He’s an excellent singer with a strong, soulful voice for this type of music. You can feel the electricity Kenny has brought with him to this band when he returned: these songs are energetic and powerful, the excitement the band has right now comes across in the songs.

If the opening track “Back To The Rhythm” doesn’t get you moving I’d be surprised, this song is epic. It starts out with a compressed synth beat before kicking down the door with hard hitting drums, some fast, melodic guitar picking and then comes the awesome melody and groove that carries the song and Kenny sounds better than he ever did before, his vocals just giving the song extra groove and energy.

“Nationwide” starts with a borderline Motley Crue riff and picks up the pace by the time the vocals kick in, I also detect a slight Winger influence on this song. This song very much represents the sound they’ve evolved over the past few albums and wouldn’t feel out of place on ‘Address the Nation’.

“Tainted Blood” is a mid-tempo rocker that again has a strong 80s US influence but filtered through the grander sound that defines this band, Kenny sings “Can’t you see? There’s a force inside of me” and that’s no exaggeration, his energy on this album is infectious.

“Hollywood” is H.E.A.T doing what they do best: intricate, melodic, hard hitting ear candy AOR. This song has in my opinion one of the catchiest choruses the band has ever written, the guitar solo on this is fantastic, a tune designed to be performed live.

“Harder to Breathe” returns to the Swede’s midtempo paced type of melodies yet still the nerve is all over it. It has a 1988-89 British AOR feel, and Kenny shines with the vocal arrangements while the guitar solo is excellent.

“Not for Sale” is an uptempo rocker that will get you moving, the melody and pace of this song is exciting, as well as the guitar playing. Easily one of the best songs on the album.
H.E.A.T shift gears for “One of Us”, a huge power ballad with pianos which gets midpaced creating a great atmosphere. It’s the only slow tune on the CD, let’s say a semi-ballad. Whichever the case, it’s awesome.

“Hold Your Fire” is pure H.E.A.T doing late 80s melodic hard rock, with both US and American influences. Listen to this song and tell me if it doesn’t reminds you Europe’s ‘Prisoners in Paradise’ era. The chorus is incredible. It’s a song that demands to be turned up loud and would make a great addition to their live set.

“Paramount” is the real curveball here, musically it’s somewhere between Danger Danger and Scandinavian Pop from early Nineties. Yeah, it’s not a song you expect from these guys but it’s a good one all the same, and works great in the track list.

“Demon Eyes” is H.E.A.T on steroids, and believe it or not there’s some Helloween on it. The rhythm section gets crazy and speedy, the guitars harder, and Kenny very powerful. Call me crazy again, but I hear some Rainbow here as well… listen to the mid-section of the song. H.E.A.T tries something different again… and succeed! The song kills.

Closer “Wings of an Aeroplane” is a great number – darn, I can’t find a filler on this album. It’s a midtempo rocker where the dizzying guitar techniques on display are impressive. In fact all the band find room to shine on this song.

A lot of incredible bands have come from Sweden, that country is arguably ground zero for some of the best rock and metal in the world for the last couple of decades, H.E.A.T is one of the very best acts to emerge from there – and in the world of melodic hard rock they are the band to beat.

”Force Majeure” is our my opinion one of their very best albums. The band is on fire and the songs on a musical level extremely impressive. It’s varied, dynamic, always entertaining.
With the return of Kenny Leckremo this is ‘real’ H.E.A.T: you can feel an excitement in the songs, the sound of a band really enjoying themselves and that always produces great results.

We can’t recommended ”Force Majeure” enough… one of the ‘albums of the year’.

AWESOME

 

01 – Back To The Rhythm
02 – Nationwide
03 – Tainted Blood
04 – Hollywood
05 – Harder To Breathe
06 – Not For Sale
07 – One Of Us
08 – Hold Your Fire
09 – Paramount
10 – Demon Eyes
11 – Wings Of An Aeroplane

Jona Tee – keyboards, backing vocals
Jimmy Jay – bass, backing vocals
Don Crash – drums, backing vocals
Dave Dalone – guitars, backing vocals
Kenny Leckremo – lead vocals, guitar

 

Pre Order
www.amazon.com/Force-Majeure-H-T/dp/B09VZFB72S

Edited August 5, 2022 by AlphaMale
spelling

[tts42572]

My CD showed up today and have to say it's sounding pretty darn good to me.

Yeah, it could be better with Erik.  But no sense crying over spilt milk anymore.  These guys still sound fantastic here and for me this album blows away those first 2 albums they did with Kenny.

I was very skeptical with Kenny coming back on board and really didnt expect to care much for new stuff with him after not caring much for those first 2 albums.  But I slowly came around and now I'm back on the train. This is just an excellent slice of melodic hard rock.

 

[The Rocker]

3 hours ago, tts42572 said:

My CD showed up today and have to say it's sounding pretty darn good to me.

Yeah, it could be better with Erik.  But no sense crying over spilt milk anymore.  These guys still sound fantastic here and for me this album blows away those first 2 albums they did with Kenny.

I was very skeptical with Kenny coming back on board and really didnt expect to care much for new stuff with him after not caring much for those first 2 albums.  But I slowly came around and now I'm back on the train. This is just an excellent slice of melodic hard rock.

 

Same

[CMGiordano]

I just got my copy. I'm too tired to give it a spin tonight, but I'm excited based on what I've read and heard so far.

[J.S.M]

I'm a bit disappointed to be honest. I think the good songs are way better than the good songs on the last album but the not so good are worse than the bad songs on the last album. Paramount has an awful chorus, Demon Eyes has no chorus at all. In taintes blood I'm waiting for something to explode. And Kenny oversings it. That doesn't sound healthy and in live videos I heard him running out of pressure because of that.

Harder to breath sounds like an older H.e.a.t track (do you want it) but it's still a good song. One of us has a strange and very repetitive chorus for a power ballad. 

It's not a bad album but I don't understand all the 10/10 reviews out there on the internet.

[KarpetRydOFunk]

1 hour ago, J.S.M said:

It's not a bad album but I don't understand all the 10/10 reviews out there on the internet.

Don't H.e.a.t always get 10/10 from the majority of reviewers? I love H.e.a.t, and am hopeful for this new album, but I do think they are overrated. 

[sirlemonhead]

I'm really disappointed in this album. I think it's probably automatically going to become my least favourite H.E.A.T release due to the mastering.

It's fucking LOUD. The levels have all been pushed to 100% so everything is just a mush of white noise. I put the album on last night and had ear fatigue by about 4 songs in. I skipped around but can't really form much of an opinion on the songs yet bar that I like Not for Sale quite a lot.

I was so excited to hear Kenny again but he sounds quite buried in the mix. You can't even really tell what the guitars are doing in the choruses due to that pumping mush of noise. I dunno if I can manage a full playthrough of the thing

It's awful.

I have the vinyl arriving today and I hope to god it's better.

[Darkstone]

We're still waiting for Andrew to tell us what "H.E.A.T." stands for BTW.

[zacharyamelie]

Easily the bands weakest release…the catchy sing along choruses are nowhere to be found. This is the first H.E.A.T that will not make my top ten, nor twenty. The band deserves a few spins but I’m not really pumped to listen to this one again. 
 

I guess they wanted heavy and loud over melodic and memorable. I am super disappointed with what I am hearing here. 

[zacharyamelie]

1 hour ago, sirlemonhead said:

I'm really disappointed in this album. I think it's probably automatically going to become my least favourite H.E.A.T release due to the mastering.

It's fucking LOUD. The levels have all been pushed to 100% so everything is just a mush of white noise. I put the album on last night and had ear fatigue by about 4 songs in. I skipped around but can't really form much of an opinion on the songs yet bar that I like Not for Sale quite a lot.

I was so excited to hear Kenny again but he sounds quite buried in the mix. You can't even really tell what the guitars are doing in the choruses due to that pumping mush of noise. I dunno if I can manage a full playthrough of the thing

It's awful.

I have the vinyl arriving today and I hope to god it's better.

I agree with this 100% and Not For Sale is just about the only keeper for my Spotify H.E.A.T mix with Kenny on vocals. 

[Kim_Hp]

Only heard a few songs so far but sounds excellent to me. I guess we will never have a full fledged AOR record from these guys again though, which is a bit of a shame. They are pure melodic hard rock these days. 

I wonder if "Demon Eyes" is a leftover from the New Horizon sessions. Certainly the heaviest song the band has ever recorded. 

[Glen]

2 things for sure :

1. it's brickwalled

2. Kenny is over singing 

[Dead Planet]

 

[The Rocker]

12 hours ago, J.S.M said:

I'm a bit disappointed to be honest. I think the good songs are way better than the good songs on the last album but the not so good are worse than the bad songs on the last album. Paramount has an awful chorus, Demon Eyes has no chorus at all. In taintes blood I'm waiting for something to explode. And Kenny oversings it. That doesn't sound healthy and in live videos I heard him running out of pressure because of that.

Harder to breath sounds like an older H.e.a.t track (do you want it) but it's still a good song. One of us has a strange and very repetitive chorus for a power ballad. 

It's not a bad album but I don't understand all the 10/10 reviews out there on the internet.

I like it, but 10/10 it is not!

[The Rocker]

4 hours ago, Glen said:

2 things for sure :

1. it's brickwalled

2. Kenny is over singing 

Agree, he is trying to hard to live up to what Erik brought to the band. That aside I still thinks it's pretty decent album.

[tts42572]

5 minutes ago, The Rocker said:

I like it, but 10/10 it is not!

Agree.

I think I enjoy it because my expectations were pretty low.

Kenny isn't in Erik's league, that's for sure.  Kenny probably is over signing but still sounds good to me.

I'm finding myself enjoying a good amount of this album.  I know I'm not caring for Demon Eyes and that definitely feels out of place.  And One of Us isn't doing too much for me.  I'm liking the rest though.  I think Hold Your Fire, Not For Sale and Wings of an Aeroplane are my favorites of the songs that we hadn't already heard as singles.

For sure not a 10/10 but I can see this in my top 5 this year.  We'll see how it settles with more listens.

 

[The Rocker]

2 hours ago, tts42572 said:

Agree.

I think I enjoy it because my expectations were pretty low.

Kenny isn't in Erik's league, that's for sure.  Kenny probably is over signing but still sounds good to me.

I'm finding myself enjoying a good amount of this album.  I know I'm not caring for Demon Eyes and that definitely feels out of place.  And One of Us isn't doing too much for me.  I'm liking the rest though.  I think Hold Your Fire, Not For Sale and Wings of an Aeroplane are my favorites of the songs that we hadn't already heard as singles.

For sure not a 10/10 but I can see this in my top 5 this year.  We'll see how it settles with more listens.

 

Yes, Demon Eye's and One Of Us will not be played again but the rest I'm enjoying.