I must admit that when Steve sent me this album for review I thought he might be having a bit of a ‘giraffe’: Allen & Lande – didn’t they used to do ‘Underneath the Arches’ or something? However after listening to ‘The Battle’ the joke’s on me as this is one of the finest AOR albums I’ve ever heard. And I’ve heard a few! 

So yes. If you are into Speed metal, Death metal, Hardcore or just about any other sort of metal that wear’s a uniform of all black then you might like to skip the rest of this review. Unless of course you are an open minded individual that simply likes music that isn’t manufactured for the ever increasingly depressing charts. 

And what we have here is a beautifully crafted album of ‘old school’ AOR that takes the best of the eighties and combines it seamlessly with what is around today. By that I mean groups like The Rasmus and HIM and it is no surprise that this was produced by Scandinavian, Anders Theander. 

Basically Allen/Lande comprises of vocalist’s Russell Allen (Symphony X) and Jorn Lande (Masterplan), plus the guitar and songwriting talent’s of Magnus Karlsson. So you would expect a Nordic influence. Yet don’t go thinking that this is yet another pretty boy Scandinavian pop-metal release. It isn’t. This really is classic AOR, American style. 

Things kick off with ‘The Battle’ and the slightly pompous keyboard opening had me thinking they’d gone and done a ‘Stonelake’ (reviewed elsewhere on Hardrockhouse) and blown the whole album with some ridiculously overblown intro. Now I’m going to be honest. If I had just heard the first thirty seconds of this album I would probably not have bothered with the rest. Thankfully this nonsense soon gives way to some gloriously orchestrated AOR of a quality so high that even after England’s recent 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Denmark I was still able to raise a smile. 

And the thing is this album just gets better as it goes along. The vocals are exemplary, the guitar work of Karlsson some of the best I’ve heard in years. The songwriting top notch; the arrangements and production absolutely spot on. Need I say more – I bloody well loved this album! 

Clearly over the last twelve months, as hinted by my fellow reviewers, this type of music is slowly re-emerging. And I ask: is that really such a bad thing? Surely all of the values stated in the previous paragraph can only be good? Of course many of these bands used to have dodgy images comprising of bouffant hair-do’s, kimonos, rising sun t-shirts and trousers tighter than a Yorkshireman’s wallet. But as witnessed by Soul Sirkus’s recent UK tour all that is changing.  

So if you have enjoyed recent albums from the likes of TMG, Steve Overland’s The Ladder, Soul Sirkus etc. then you simply must check out ‘The Battle’. It is every bit as good, if not better. And I can’t recommend it any higher than that.

Let us know your views on 'The Battle'

Track List

Another Battle
Hunter's Night
Wish For A Miracle
Reach A Little Longer
Come Alive
Truth of Our Time
My Own Way
Ask You Anyway
Silent Rage
Where Have The Angels Gone
Universe Of Light
The Forgotten Ones

Line  Up

Jorn Lande - Vocals
Russell Allen - Vocals
Magnus Karlsson - Guitar,Bass & Keyboards
Jaime Salazar - Drums