War Of Kings

I have ignored the band and laugh at it since I was a teenager, but the saddest thing is that I never ever really sat down and listen to any of their albums till now, thanks to the awesome first single “War of Kings” which sounded more like Heaven and Hell than the band I always thought of being cheesy. War of Kings is the 12th album of the Swedish band and it is absolutely stellar; almost an hour of the best hard rock you can probably listen to in 2015, twelve tracks with no filler and a great production job. It is interesting to see that the band chose Dave Cobb as a producer, a man that I already knew for his credits in the last Jason Isbell or Jamie Johnson. He is primarily a country producer even though, and probably that is the missing link here, he worked in the last three Rival Sons’ albums which sound pretty similar to this one. The album sounds modern and loud but organic and dynamic, a rarity these days. The drums have a Bonham feel to them, are groovy and sound alive. The bass is present at all times, the guitars have soul and the vocal breath feeling and personality. The main strong point is that there is not a single bad or ok song in this album, every single guitar lick, drum pattern and vocal line sounds fresh and energetic, just listen to “Children of The Mind”, album opener “War of Kings” or the incredible and bluesy “Praise You”. The album starts strong, never gets boring and ends stronger with four of the best tracks, “Children of The Mind”, “Rainbow Bridge”, “Angels” and “Light Me Up”, this last one being an absolute masterpiece of melodic rock madness that I think talks about smoking weed, and has an air guitar material killer solo. In the digipack edition you will find another extra track, the instrumental “Vasastan” which is also worth listening to and that it has a clear Pink Floyd feel. This album has been the biggest surprised this year, an album that will make you wanna dive into the band’s discography, like I’m doing right now, and ask them for forgiveness if you ever see them walking down the street. That good.

I’ve been a Europe fan since I walked into a record store that sold used cassettes (!) in 1986 and heard “The Final Countdown,” from the album of the same name. I quickly devoured their back catalogue, including the self-titled debut album (1983) and the follow-up Wings of Tomorrow (1984). “The Final Countdown” would make it all the way to # 8 in the US and their follow-up, “Carrie,” would do even better, going to #3 in 1987. Fame did not last for Europe, however. Their next album, Out of This World (1988) would yield only one hit single, “Superstitious,” which climbed to #31 in the US. The band attempted to follow-up in 1990 with the never-released Seventh Sign, which was rejected by their label (Epic). Europe ultimately released Prisoners in Paradise in 1991, however, the album failed to make an impression commercially or critically. Tracks from the doomed Seventh Sign would trickle out on various releases over the next 10 years, but many remain unreleased. Europe was dropped by Epic following the release of Prisoners. Although they would never regain the success of the 1980s, Europe would return in 2003 with Start from the Dark. The album revealed a rejuvenated, heavier, guitar-laced, bluesy sound which has formed the template for all Europe albums since, including: Secret Society (2006), Last Look at Eden (2009), Bag of Bones (2012), and War of Kings (2015). War of Kings is the band’s 10th album and their first with the UDR label. The title track reveals a heavier sound than has been present since, perhaps, Secret Society. Joey Tempest’s voice remains as clear, strong, and immediately recognizable as it did in 1983. My favorite track is, arguably, “Praise You,” which starts with a crunchy metal sound before transitioning into a bluesy swagger and then yet again into a ballad. It’s just a fantastic tune all around, one of the band’s best certainly. Another favorite is the straightforward ballad “Angels (With Broken Hearts). If you’re a fan of classic Europe ballads like “Carrie,” “Dreamer,” or “Open Your Heart,” you will enjoy this one. There really isn’t a dud on this disc and I’d say it is one of Europe’s strongest album. In fact, it may be their best, though it’s tough to overcome the nostalgia of being 16 years old and hearing “The Final Countdown” for the first time.

It's brand new. It's a hard rocking Europe album. Not everything sounds like Final Countdown. I highly recommend it.

Europe has returned this spring with their latest album War of Kings. Moving well beyond the sound the world came to know them for in the 80’s, Europe has recharged their musical style over the past few years. Today’s Europe has a lot more rock in their roll and a much harder edge. War of Kings plays out to be no different; the album is a well- orchestrated move conquering rock and roll. This band of rock veterans does a fine job of weaving their combined musical talents together bring in a solid rock album. The lead single War of Kings is a dark, broody testament to how rock and roll should be – heavy and resounding, a song that makes the statement ‘we are back’! Vasastan is fantastic instrumental track that allows that the band to take center stage and shine. Meanwhile Ian Haugland (drums) and John Leven (bass) send rolling thunder through the songs like Children of the Mind and Nothing To Ya. While the master of the keys Mic Michaeli (keyboards) sets songs like California 405 and Rainbow Bridge sweeping along giving each of the songs depth and fluidity. Guitarist John Norum works his mystical guitar magic through Hole In My Pocket and Praise To You. While Joey Tempest delivers some of his best vocal performances to date on several of the new tracks, notably Nothin’ To Ya, Praise To You and the title song War of Kings. Europe is band that shows no signs of slowing down, you can tell they love what they do – performing and being a part of the art of rock and roll. If you get the chance to see any one of their US performances grab the chance, these guys know how to put on a show. Europe is solid proof rock and roll is not dead.

This is A new press and not the 2015 original release.

Me encanta este disco, muy recomendable

It’s a masterpiece. Perhaps, the best record of Europe with War of Kings.

Senza dubbio il miglior lavoro della band dal "post reunion". Un eccellente opener-title track dal riff dark vi guiderà in un album pieno di ottime idee ben assemblate dove non manca la qualità e la varietà. Tra le tracce migliori, oltre alla già citata War of mi kings, la travolgente Days of Rock on Roll, Rainbow Bridge e l intensa Second Days. Un album valido e senza cadute di tono, inutile dire che non dovete aspettarvi un album di classico hair metal anni '80 (di cui anch'io sono appassionato) genere che la band ormai ha abbandonato dai tempi di "Prisoners in Paradise".

Another solid album from Europe.Same high quality as all albums after 'Last Look At Eden'.Pretty heavy and dark this time.Deep Purple with a lot Sabbath influences and a lot of 'Kashmir' vibes.If you love that stuff ,you will love this album.Forget 'The Final Countdown',though they are all original members,this is a different animal.Best songs for me are the heavy title track,'California 405' and 'Days Of Rock'n'Roll'witch reminds me of UFO's 'Doctor Doctor'with an catchy guitar hook from Jon Norum.