{"id":18361,"date":"2014-04-24T00:00:50","date_gmt":"2014-04-24T00:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=18361"},"modified":"2014-06-10T20:27:31","modified_gmt":"2014-06-10T20:27:31","slug":"album-review-alien-eternity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-alien-eternity\/","title":{"rendered":"ALIEN – Eternity (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

ALIEN
Eternity<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nAOR Heaven (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Swedish rockers Alien are just one of those majestic bands who I\u2019ve always had a soft spot for. These guys formed in Gothenburg back in 1986, but the melodic rock they have churned out over the years has never really gone away despite the grunge invasion of the early to mid 90s.<\/p>\n

With the likes of Toto, Journey et al remaining popular all over the globe it\u2019s always just been a matter of time for acts of this ilk to not just reform, but to make us realise that such harmonious highs aren\u2019t just for nostalgic purposes but also a timely reminder that we\u2019ve always craved this radio-friendly rock \u2019n\u2019 roll.<\/p>\n

As soon as \u2018In Love We Trust\u2019 kicks in I\u2019m transported back to the 80s, but immediately recognise the timeless quality in this type of music and as to how rich the vocals of Jim Jidhed remain. Probably once derided for being mere one-dimensional \u201chair metal\u201d by the detractors who \u201cgrew up\u201d and became too \u201ccool\u201d for this sort of music, Alien have spanned the decades with their cosy brand of heart-warming rock.<\/p>\n

Eternity<\/em> doesn\u2019t simply see the band in full voice but it also sees the original line-up together again. Jidhed is backed by guitarist Tony Borg, bassist Ken Sandin, drummer Toby Tarrach and keyboardist Jimmy Wandroph, and the chemistry is there for all to see and hear.<\/p>\n

\u2018In Love We Trust\u2019 tumbles into play on a simple drum march, throbbing guitar and tender synth. Jidhed croons, \u201cYou and I in the darkness hand in hand, always is a touch to understand\u201d<\/em>, and we\u2019re back where we belong, cradled in the arms of Alien\u2019s majestic melodies and that sense of belief that lifted us time and time again. \u201cYou\u2019re the only one who ever mattered, made me everything I am\u201d<\/em>, continues the singer, and we\u2019re right there with him as a solo pierces the lush arrangements and \u2018In Love We Trust\u2019 immediately befriends us and enables us to walk hand in hand with those soaring harmonies. It\u2019s not as if we\u2019ve never heard this sort of aching tune before, but it\u2019s one so welcoming that we just fall for it every time. And now that we\u2019ve found ourselves among the clouds it\u2019s only right we visit the other soundscapes.<\/p>\n

A cool piano introduces us to the jaunt of \u2018Unbroken\u2019, which is upbeat and burning with fiery soul, whereas \u2018Love Will Lead Me Home\u2019 has the sort of introductory tone reminiscent of Cutting Crew\u2019s 1986 classic \u2018(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight\u2019 \u2013 it\u2019s sweet and powerful and again features an anthemic chorus speaking of stars colliding and skies crashing down. Epic!<\/p>\n

Eternity<\/em> offers golden nugget after golden nugget; the sort of gems which became part of so many teenager\u2019s diets in the 80s. \u2018I Believe\u2019 is a stark ballad; merely Jidhed and a mournful piano, but together they build to a scorching crescendo. Alien are the kings of belief, purveyors of hope and messengers of glory.<\/p>\n

These themes saturate this wonderful album, whether in the form of the sweltering \u2018Summer Of Love\u2019, the soulful sway of \u2018I\u2019m A Fighter\u2019 or the sugary tinkle of \u2018Liar Liar\u2019, with its big chief chants of \u201cLiar liar, hearts on fire\u201d<\/em>. We know what we’re getting with this sort of reflective, heart-wrenching rock and all we can do is sit back and lap it up, either accompanied by a roaring night-time fire or the cool breeze of an approaching summer. It\u2019s all synth-laced illustriousness pierced by soaring solos and jaunty rhythms which caress the hearts, the ears and the mind, and for that we are eternally thankful.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ALIENEternity AOR Heaven (2014)Rating: 8.5\/10 Swedish rockers Alien are just one of those majestic bands who I\u2019ve always had a soft spot for. These guys formed in Gothenburg back in 1986, but the melodic rock they have churned out over the years has never really gone away despite the grunge invasion of the early to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1170],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-alien"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18361"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18961,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18361\/revisions\/18961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}