RIAN – Twenty-Three

Melodic hard rock from Sweden is what we have here and this album boasts a powerful production and a solid number of effective hooks. These guys can certainly play and they have a really cool and impressive ability to weave different melodies together to create layers and textures within the compositions, but the record lacks those huge, massive tunes that are capable of making stadium-sized crowds erupt or tearing the roof off your house.

Those infinitely catchy choruses seem somewhat absent and despite the good harmonies and the fact that this eleven-track effort is incredibly well-produced, it never really turns into one of those meaty, utterly enjoyable classic rock feasts that you so crave. The vocals also lack a bit of edge and charisma to these ears. One thing that needs to be mentioned here is that Rian have done a great job taking the 80s hard rock template and adding a crisp, modern sheen to it so that the LP comes across as a current-sounding affair; it does not sound dated yet it manages to pay subtle tribute to acts ala Europe and Dokken. Not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, but there are better and more interesting alternatives out there and "Twenty-Three" is unremarkable in the overall perspective and fails to stand out.

 

RIAN – the band (rianrocks.com)