Every once in a while a new band or artist pops up right from what feels like is thin air and creates a stir like you wouldn’t believe. Swedish Melodic Rock/AOR group Remedy is one of those. From one day to another, this band hadn’t made a beep to be all over the internet, especially social media, bring home praise from everyone who had lent their then not yet released debut album an ear. Remedy is the brainchild of guitarist Roland “Rolli” Forsman who has a history playing with a whole bunch of Swedish pop-artists. Rolli hooked up with Sören Kronqvist, once hand-picked by Frontiers records as a song writer and has had a hand in acs like Sunstorm, Issa, Crazy Lixx, First Signal and Place Vendome.
The band consist of Rolli, singer Robert Van Der Zwan, bass player Jonas Dicklo, drummer Fredrik Karlberg and keyboard player Jonas Öijvall. That being said, only Rolli, Robert and Jonas is featured on the album where Dynazty/Paralydium drummer Georg Härnsten Egg and Royal Hunt bassist Andreas Passmark are responsible for the rhythm section as session guys. Production duties were held by Rolli and Kronqvist, who also handed some additional keyboards and Erik Mårtensson from Eclipse was responsible for both mixing and mastering the whole shebang. With so much praise beforehand I of course became highly interested in this release, knowing that the album could actually go either way – masterpiece or catastrophe. Or simply just good.
Remedy opens their debut with an upbeat, straight ahead rocker that gets its hooks in you right from hello. “Living On The Edge” is a heavier take on AOR/Melodic Rock – guitar-driven, punchy and edgy yet still polished with smooth, glistening keyboards and hooky melodies to die for and the chorus is brilliantly catchy. It’s nothing new under the sun but the song is so damn good it’s ridiculous. The following leading single “I Wanna Have It All” continue to throw hooks around. It’s a more hard-rocking tune with a catchy yet crunchy riff and a fat rhythm. They hold back some in the verses but with an intense main-melody involved but the chorus is a monster, so infectious not even antibiotics could get rid of it. You want it all? Well, songs like this will certainly help. Awesome!
AOR-bands have always brought in songs that has a girl’s name as a title and this album is no exception. “Marilyn” is a poppy rocker that throws itself shamelessly into the 80’s. It’s a slick tune with a direct beat, big melodies and a smooth soundscape but it’s never candy coated at all. The keyboards screams 1986, the clean guitars are captivating and the big pop-chorus is massively contagious. This should’ve been a monumental hit. Brilliant. Also a single, “Scream In Silence” is heavier with a darker atmosphere and an almost eerie soundscape. The edgy riff is quite raw, the keyboards are beefy and the rhythm-section is fat and punchy but the melodies are all still catchy and the refrain is affable and easily embraced with an intense hook. A stunning number.
Every AOR/Melodic Rock record needs its power ballad and “Sundays At Nine” is the big power ballad here. It’s a slow-paced, dramatic number that dwells in a grandiose soundscape, it’s quite pompous and bombastic. It holds a gorgeous piano that starts out quiet but takes more place throughout the song, chunky guitars and smooth keyboards and a chorus so infectious it almost hurts. Magnificent! The crunchy “Stranger” is an upbeat rock-stomper that blends a firey guitar sound with some big keyboards on a straight ahead note. It’s a distinct, live-friendly Melodic Rock number that holds strong melodies in both verse and refrain where the latter hits right where it should right from go. Great.
Latest single “Thunder In The Dark” brings on a pop-laden, slightly held-back verse that’s carried by a solid beat. The song holds an underlying darkness, almost saddening, but at the same time it feels positive and uplifting. The chorus is massive, it’s enormously catchy and should have brought Remedy a monster hit from where I stand. It’s surely a Hard Rock number albeit with smooth vocal-arrangements and keen hooks that hits bull’s-eye right off the bat. Astounding! Shit-hot guitars and slick keyboards, punchy and powerhouse rhythms and a mighty blending of Hard Rock and AOR. That’s what “My Devil Within” brings to the table. It also brings an intro of latin chanting. And let’s not forget melodies with hooks enough to sell and an out of this world chorus. Simply majestic stuff!
We’re about to reach closing time and it begins with the fast-tracked, metal-fused and heavy rocker “Sinners And Saints”. It’s riffy, rhythmically hard-hitting and heavy but at the same time it’s melodic as hell with distinct, clear hooks and catchy, direct melodies all over the place and tasteful keyboards. It’s a powerhouse, sparky melodic Hard Rock number with an in-your-face refrain that sticks directly. I’d use this as a live-opener. Brilliant. The closing ballad “Lifeline” is a low-key and fragile ballad, based on a piano where the keyboard strings gives the song a dramatic atmosphere. The chorus however is big and bombastic with lots of emotion and passion in the vocal department. It’s captivating with a melody-line that really gets under my skin. Fantastic.
It’s really nice that the so-called “hype” for once really keeps what it promised because this is a magnificent record. Terrific. Sure, this is a Melodic Rock/AOR album so it’s not like they have reinvented the wheel but not only is it an all killer, no filler song-wise, Remedy also have their own identity and sound. The production is clean, crystal clear and smooth but it never goes glossy or sugar-coated. It’s also an album that shows that you can make this kind of music without sounding like every other thirteen-a-dozen AOR-band of the 2000’s. There’s a bright future ahead of this lot, the only question is how the hell they’re gonna top this when it’s time for a follow-up.
9/10
Tracklist:
1. Living On The Edge
2. I Wanna Have It All
3. Marilyn
4. Scream In Silence
5. Sunday At Nine
6. Stranger
7. Thunder In The Dark
8. My Devil Within
9. Sinners And Saints
10. Lifeline
CD & Festival reviews 