I love these guys. More Swedish melodic greatness, fronted by one of the best voices in the land – Jakob Samuel. His raspy mix of melody and power and presence give him an edge over many others.
This is the band’s 6th studio album already – where does the time go? I like them all, but this and the last album have been particularly satisfying.
Devil In The Details is easily the band’s most diverse release yet and also their most modern as far as production and production effects.
Diverse and modern are two words that scare (with good reason!) many fans of this genre and you can add ‘not very commercial’ to the list, but I’m pleased to say that everything used on this album is only to serve the songs.
Track by track this is a very consistent and very catchy set of songs.
Production is awesome – it’s this kind of modernization that the genre needs to appeal to new fans, yet everything about this release screams classic hard rock.
The rousing Before I Die with a flurry of heavy riffs and powerful beats is a killer opener.
House Of Cards is an intense, sonically powerful track that leads into the perfect commercial melodic rock ballad The Greatest.
Crack In The Wall is a “wall” of sound – a high energy rocker that leads into the quirky heavy programmed pop feel of (What The Hell) Baby. Suddenly I’m thinking Baby One More Time though. First H.E.A.T, now The Poodles?
Other highlights include Everything - a fantastic uptempo anthem; the cool modern rocker Alive and another effects filled modern rocker Borderline to close.
A different sound from the guys, while retaining their original sound. No one sounds like The Poodles, but they still manage to mix things up and this album is no different.
Another strong and consistent release.
