Monday, March 12, 2012

Melodic rock CD of the week


By Stephen Kasenda

WHITE WIDDOW “Serenade” (2011)

Melbourne-based melodic rockers WHITE WIDDOW return with even stronger output in 'Serenade'. Sounding almost identical to their debut, the band kicks up the bar to a higher level with a more polished sound and well-crafted songs in the vein of Def Leppard's Hysteria/Adrenalize era, wrapped up with European smooth AOR.

You can't find any fillers here - if you're really a fan of AOR, really it's just amazing to hear some heartburning songs like 'Cry Wolf', 'Strangers In The Night', or 'Serenade'. Granted there are few weaker songs such as 'Show Your Cards' or 'Mistake', but even those songs are still enjoyable. 'Do You Remember' is the most obvious Leppardized track, 'Reckless Night' is flawless, and 'How Far I Run' is also stunning (although the chorus is too similar to JOURNEY's 'Never Walk Away').

This album is full of sugar-coated hooks and sing-along choruses that might remind you to the hey-day of arena rock back in the 80s…and the production is excellent. Definitely better than the debut, a 90% from me that got it into my final top ten list last year. Superb!

Read more of Stephen’s features at MetalMusicArchives.

No comments: