Baltimoore are one of those bands that fans of melodic rock are likely to have heard of, but quite possibly have never heard anything by, even though X is, unsurprisingly, their tenth album. That being said the current members of the Swedish quintet have a fair old musical pedigree behind them. Drummer  Hempo Hilden having previously trodden the boards with the likes of John Norum &  Don Dokken, whilst guitarist Thomas Larsson has worked in the past with the 'Voice Of Rock', Glenn Hughes.

Baltimoore as a band however are built around vocalist Bjorn Lodin, a man blessed with a voice that is  equal parts Steve Augeri and Phil Mogg of UFO fame. And speaking of UFO, a lot of this album reminds of their most recent outing, the excellent Monkey Puzzle album, as X is a classy collection of blues inspired hard rock. Throughout Baltimoore blends the 70's sounds of Free, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin and other bands of that ilk and add just a touch of AC/DC and Thin Lizzy to spice things up. In short  a band with an excellent classic rock sound, but with a collection of tuneful songs that both sound familiar and new at the same time, a difficult feat.

If your fan of any of the bands mentioned you’ll find something to like here, from rocking opener Cumgum, to the AC/DC sounding 'Play On' and the Thin Lizzy-esque 'Make It Through' . Indeed all of the material contained on X is of the highest order with the rhythm section of Hilden and bassist Weine Johansson providing a solid backbone over which Larsson, Sedenberg and Lodin can exert their own inimitable skills.

With 70's based rock enjoying something of a resurgence in the UK at this time, thanks to bands like The Answer & Roadstar,there is certainly a market for this brand of no nonsense hard rock  and Balitmoore do the business very well thank you very much. Overall X is a far better release than most of the product that hits the market these days, and given that this is the band's third release in a mere fourteen months that surely says something for the wealth of  talent and skill the quintet are able to draw upon.

Let us know your views on 'X'

Track List

Cumgum
Tables Turn
Life
Asshole
2 & 2
Something Going On
Fleeting As The Moment
Play On
Make It Through
Sence

Line Up

Bjorn Lodin - Vocals
Thomas Larsson - Guitars
Mankan Sedenberg - Guitars 
Weine Johansson - Bass
Hempo Hilden - Drums