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EMOTION
SELF-TITLED
Release Date: November 7, 2006
Record label: Retroactive Records www.retroactiverecords.net
Distribution: Brutal Planet Distribution / brutalplanet@gmail.com
Product ID: RAR7830
Style: Progressive Power Metal
Insert: four panel
Tracks: 17
Time: approx. 75 minutes
Bonus Tracks: 5 (The entire ’94 TIP TO TOE ep)
Lyrics: Yes
ABOUT THE ALBUM
Originally released in Europe on Massive Music in 1997 with the album title, “Taste of Grapes” (it was also released in Japan). Only a handful of copies ever made it into the USA….a tragedy considering this release can stand up right along releases by Helloween, Narnia, Rob Rock / Impellitteri, Seventh Avenue, Modest Attraction, and Divine Fire. There’s also a definite influence from classic metal bands like Deep Purple, Kingdom Come, and Dokken.
Things could hardly have started off better for this talented Swedish metal band. Lead singer Mikael Lagermo and Ingemar Martensson put the band together in 1988. Within a short time, the band was touring Poland, and found themselves in front of 20,000 screaming rock fans in support of world renowned progressive metal act, Helloween.
Not only has the band provided a biography in the liner notes, full lyrics, and all new (and much improved) artwork, but this powerful metal re-release also features the band’s 1994, 5 song EP called, TIP TO TOE, rounding out the track listing to a whopping 17 tracks! A full Digital Remaster allows this progressive power metal masterpiece to sound better than ever!
KEY SELLING POINTS
·Digitally Remastered
·Limited Edition
·Track included on the LIGHTING STRIKES TWICE CD sampler.
·Track included on the Nov/Dec HM Magazine & Heaven’s metal Fanzine subscriber CD
·All new and improved artwork, with lyrics.
·HM Magazine & Heaven’s Metal Magazine Ad campaigns
·Radio and Magazine Review promo campaign.
·Opened for mainstream metal act, Helloween on Poland tour.
·HM Compilation mailed to over 5000 subscribers world-wide.
SONG TITLES
celeste, welcome to my house, taste of grapes, the burning spear, rendez-vous, right to be wrong, fakin’ my face, can’t hold back my tears, when I fall, how far can we go?, cloak of love, love is over me… BONUS TRACKS: tip to toe, wholeness and holiness, rendez-vous, fakin’ my face, way over jordan
WWW.ANGELICWARLORD.COM REVIEW
Emotion got its start in the late eighties when it was founded by guitarist/vocalist Mikael Lagermo and bassist Ingemar Martensson. After the two recruited the musicians making up the bands first official line up, the new hard rocking unit proceeded to tour Poland, the Ukraine and its native Sweden before entering the studio and recording a 2-song vinyl single entitled Right On Time. Talented keyboardist Jan Samefors later joined the fold in the early nineties and in 1994 helped Emotion record its five song EP Tip To Toe. Bringing in drummer Mats Ohlsson in 1996, the band put together its full length debut Taste Of Grapes and released it in Scandinavia and Japan the very next year. While Tip To Toe and Taste Of Grapes have been hard to find and obscure collectors items for years, the good news is that both were recently digitally re-mastered and re-issued with new album artwork by Retroactive Records.
What Emotion brings to the table is a blend of 70s style keyboard driven hard rock and 80s influenced melodic metal. No, nothing new or groundbreaking and this had been done countless times before; on the other hand, it is always good to hear this again- particularly when it is of a very high quality. And such is the case here. Fans of old school Swedish hard rock acts such as Leviticus, XT, Jerusalem, Motherlode and Charizma will rejoice as will those into Laudamus, Audiovision, Narnia, Guardian and Shout. Catchy hooks abound, best showcased on tracks such as “Welcome To My House”, “Taste Of Grapes”, “Cloak Of Love” and “Love Is Over Me”. Some of the material here really grooves or even comes across bluesy at times. So there is ample variety to keep your attention.
Mikael Lagermo is a very fine vocalist who reminds me of Sonny Larsson (Motherlode, XT) – though with not quite the same jaw dropping range – but with a hint of grit and gravel to his delivery. Another accurate comparison might be Legend/Legend 7 vocalist Andy Denton. As a guitarist, he lays down a nice rhythm guitar sound but wish he would have cut loose a bit more on lead guitar. Keyboardist Jan Samefors adds just the right amount of texture with his tasteful work on organ and keyboards. Drummer Mats Ohlsson and bassist Ingemar Martensson put in place a solid foundation for the bands sound.
Production values are quite solid but would benefit from a touch of big budget polish. On several tracks, for example, the rhythm guitar could have been mixed more prominently while on a few others the keyboards end up slightly forward. All in all, nothing that might be considered distracting or that will detract from your listening experience.
Give Retroactive credit for the high quality of the albums packaging. The album artwork is quite eye catching while a detailed band biography is included along with easy to read lyrics and liner notes.
The CD begins with the twelve tracks from Taste Of Grapes.
The album gets underway with “Celeste”, a minute long keyboard driven instrumental with an orchestral feel.
“Welcome To My House” begins to an instrumental section carried by a nice forward mix of organ. The organ continues to remain a steady presence as the song cruises through its first verse, leading the way to an energetic chorus with a huge catchy hook.
The drum solo introducing “Taste Of Grapes” gives way to a blend of organ and pounding drums. Making a time change to an ominous mid-tempo pace at the start of its first verse, the song abruptly gains momentum prior to moving on to a classy chorus delivered in a smooth sounding and infectious manner.
“The Burning Spear” opens to an edgy open air rhythm guitar prior to taking off at an upbeat tempo. Moving through its first verse as keyboards play a prominent role in the mix, “The Burning Spear” hits a dead end upon achieving a chorus that fails to hold up due to its all around pedestrian feel. The songs instrumental section – which is carried by a quirky blend of chanted vocal harmonies and clapping hands – can be difficult to tolerate. I tend to skip over this one.
“Rendez-vous”, on the other hand, ranks with the albums better compositions. After progressing through its first verse to an even blend of keyboards and bass guitar, the rhythm guitar kicks in and impels the song to a groove-flavored chorus with one of those catchy hooks you will be challenged to rid of your mind. On “Rendez-vous”, Emotion compares the second coming to a literal rendezvous:
Where you there together with the crowd?
Have you heard He rose into a cloud?
A barren cross is all I see
An empty grave convinces me
An open heaven waits for us
Hey, look out for the rendez-vous- He’s coming back!
“Right To Be Wrong” moves through its verse portions in up-tempo fashion to a rollicking combination of rhythm guitar and organ, tapering off upon reaching a laid back pre-chorus accentuated by a flattering mix of keyboards. The rhythm guitar driven chorus that follows is perfectly shored up by a touch of vocal harmonies. Very compelling track with a lot of time changes to hold your interest.
“Fakin’ My Face” takes off in a rhythm guitar and organ driven direction before marching through its first verse to Lagermos’ raspy vocal delivery. Picking up in pace to a hint of backing vocals for its pre-chorus, “Fakin’ My Face” culminates for a strong but aggressively delivered and hard hitting chorus. A keyboard solo carries the extent of a very well done lengthy instrumental section.
The ballad “Can’t Hold Back My Tears” gives rise to a noteworthy melody as it is carried its distance by an amalgamation of acoustic guitar and keyboards. A piano solo shores up a brief but well times instrumental section.
“When I Fall” starts to an extensive instrumental section showcasing a slowly moving mix of rhythm guitar and organ. Pausing for a few brief seconds of open air rhythm guitar, the song abruptly picks up in pace and advances in quickly moving fashion to a raucous chorus driven by heavy duty backing vocals. This one has a nice bluesy feel to it. “When I Fall” is a song of faith:
When I was out He tuned me in
He forgave me all my sins
Down on my knees, had given up
To the brim He filled my cup
I have no wish to wake His wrath
I want to walk on the righteous path
I’m on the road again I know
He’s the only rock
“How Far Can We Go?”, the albums second ballad, smoothly progresses in an acoustic laced manner until it attains a chorus giving rise to an overriding commercial feel. Perhaps it is a melody on the marginal side or it might be the fact this is the second ballad out of three songs, but more often than not I pass on this one. I can see how others might enjoy “How Far Can We Go?”, though.
“Cloak Of Love” really grooves. The song commences to an open air rhythm guitar that is soon joined by an impeccable mix of organ, a grit-laden setting put in place as a driving riff holds sway over its verse portions and keyboards the pre-chorus that follows. A catchy chorus carried by Lagermo’s gritty vocal delivery rates with the albums best. A fiery guitar solo helps highlight a song in which the band makes another statement of faith:
Arrayed in a robe of righteousness
I’m clothed in a cloak of love
Lift my feet higher, lift them up
From this mud and mire
Show me the fords where to walk so to meet the Lord
“Love Is Over Me” reflects a cool bluesy feel during the slowly moving instrumental section covering its opening. Gaining momentum in guitar driven fashion at the start of its first verse, “Love Is Over Me” tapers off before exuding a ton of charisma as it arrives at a chorus with a great commercial flavored hook. I really enjoy how the pace slows for an instrumental section bolstered by ethereal guitar feedback. This one is guaranteed to have you singing along in no time.
In summary, Taste Of Grapes showcases several first rate compositions in “Welcome To My House”, “Taste Of Grapes”, “Rendez-vous”, “Cloak Of Love” and “Love Is Over Me”. And while I might occasionally skip over “The Burning Spear” and “How Far Can We Go?”, the rest of its material is well constructed and easily holds up under repeated play.
Of the five songs making up the EP Tip To Toe, two - “Rendez-vous” and “Fakin’ My Face” – were re-recorded by the band for Taste Of Grapes. So we will skip over both of these in the track by track analysis and focus on the three that are unique to Tip To Toe.
“Tip To Toe” is an exciting groove flavored hard rocker. Proceeding through its first verse to a forward mix of rhythm guitar, momentum is gained until the song peaks for an attitude-laden chorus bolstered by just the right amount of vocal harmonies.
Subsequent to a church organ getting “Wholeness And Holiness” underway, it makes a time change to an up-tempo pop flavored beat prior to arriving at a strong, radio friendly chorus. This one reflect a neat AOR vibe (sort of like Petra)- and the band pulls it off without a hitch.
The album closes in a very fine manner to the piano and keyboard based ballad “Way Over Jordan”.
The best way to sum up would be to give a great deal of credit to Retroactive Records for making Taste Of Grapes and Tip To Toe available for the first time in literally years.
Track Listing: “Celeste” (:58), “Welcome To My House” (3:51), “Taste Of Grapes” (5:41), “The Burning Spear” (3:49), “Rendez-vous” (3:56), “Right To Be Wrong” (5:15), “Fakin’ My Face” (3:49), “Can’t Hold Back My Tears” (4:24), “When I Fall” (4:17), “How Far Can We Go?” (4:02), “Cloak Of Love” (4:41), “Love Is Over Me” (5:18), “Tip To Toe” (4:29), “Wholeness And Holiness” (3:42), “Rendez-vous” (4:06), “Fakin’ My Face” (3:50), “Way Over Jordan” (3:26)
Musicians
Mikael Lagermo – Lead Vocals & Guitars
Jan Samefors – Organ & Keyboards
Ingemar Martensson – Bass
Mats Ohlsson - Drums
Additional Musician
Hakan Cederqvist – Bass (tracks 13-17)
Pelle Pettersson – Drums (tracks 13-17)
REVIEW FROM WWW.PHANTOMTOLLBOOTH.ORG
We all have guilty pleasures. We all have certain formulas that work for us. We all know that a project doesn’t have to be original to be exciting and fun, or challenging and thought-provoking, or uplifting, or many other things. Most music is simply the result of its influences. With that said, Emotion wears its influences on its sleeve. That sleeve is a ripped denim jacket from the 80’s.
Emotion is power pop, and glam metal, delivered with a European sensibility. The band most resembles the Scorpions (mostly due to a similarity between Emotion vocalist Mikael Lägermo and Klaus Meine), but also shows similarities to Dokken, Foreigner, and Recon. The band sounds tight and stands alongside their influences, not simply defined by them.
The recording work is well done, and I imagine that the remastering of this disc (and the bonus EP tracks) served the band well. The sounds are crisp, with an emphasis on the high tones, similar to early TNT recordings. One of the more impressive aspects of this release is that the band shows that it is adept at all speeds of songs: ballads, rockers, and mid-tempo jams.
The disc starts out with a keyboard-based instrumental (“Celeste”) that segues into stand-out rocker “Welcome to My House.” The keyboards are played by Jan Samefors. The guitar playing by Lägermo drives this rocker. Later the rhythm section of Ingemar Märtensson (bass) and Mats Ohlsson (drums) propels “The Burning Spear,” another strong rocker.
The first ballad to appear (“Rendezvous,” later reprised with its EP version) is a nice tune that looks forward to Christ’s return with simple lyrics that serve the song:
Hey, look out for the rendezvous
He’s coming back, what a rendezvous
He’ll return just as he said
He’ll come back and it makes me glad
“Can’t Hold Me Back” is an acoustic ballad, reminiscent of the Scorpion’s “Wind of Change” or White Lion’s “When Children Cry.” It is a lament at the state in which so many children live. The first reaction of Christians should be the tears mentioned in this song, followed by the righteous fight for justice, though often it is confusing to be able to find the avenue to help.
Mid-tempo songs are represented later in the recording with such gems as “When I Fall” and “Cloak of Love.” The latter song settles into a nice groove, with a call-and-response lyric in the verses. “When I Fall” has a nice organ sound supporting the guitars, and later speeds up the tempo to create a sense of urgency to support the lyrics.
Retroactive Records has added the band’s 5-song Tip to Toe EP as bonus tracks at the end of the disc. 2 songs are repeated from the main album, but all are welcome and stand on their own as quality songs. This disc is one of the more pleasant surprises I have been able to review this year. It deserves to be in the collection of all lovers of metal and power pop.
By Jonathan Nelson 4.5 OUT OF 5 RATING
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