LAST AUTUMN’S DREAM – Level Eleven
- by Matt Coe
- Posted on 15-03-2015
The 11th album from Sweden’s Last Autumn’s Dream, "Level 11" is a tightrope walk between their classic melodic hard rock style and the occasional injection of modern hooks/ grooves to keep the quartet’s sound a little fresher. Scandinavian vocal harmonies carry "Follow Your Heart", while "Go Go Go- Get Ready for the Show" is a tailor made anthem for arena audiences. Mikael Erlandsson has a throaty, bluesy pattern to his melodies, feeling a touch stretched out during higher range passages such as "I’ll Be There 4 U" and the trailing notes of the chorus to "Star".
Brilliant guitar work from Peter Söderström aside, the 11 songs on "Level Eleven" are serviceable and yet fail to excite my melodic hard rock instincts – a closing ballad like "PLZ" great for E’nuff Z’nuff, but not Last Autumn’s Dream as they aren’t able to pull off the psychedelic harmonies with enough conviction. "A Touch of Heaven" from a few years ago puts this record in the dust.
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