CCD
Winter in Paradise

CCD, a term that I connect with digital cameras, before the CMOS sensors that are used today DSLRs were using CCD sensors, I still use such a camera from time to time. It is also a term when you speak about bees, Colony Collapse Disorder where the worker bees die. When it comes to this band the CCD stands for Compulsive Composing Disorder, and it is probably the main guy Robin Vagh who suffer from that disorder. And Björn Ledelius might have some compulsive lyrics disorder as he has helped with the lyrics of the songs.

It is the second album of CCD, the first one was called Mindfuckness and was released in 2017. This album shares the name with a book, and it can be described as melodic heavy metal, kind of AOR meets NWOBHM or something to that effect. Pretty fresh sound, the production may not be the greatest ever and perhaps lacking somewhat compared with the best. The songs are varied and there is a good variation throughout, compared with the debut album it is an improvement on all accounts; the artwork looks better, the vocalist is better, the sound is better, and the songs are better.

Winter in Paradise is a good album with very good songs, no real weaknesses unless you count the production that is not quite as good as the best. But with such strong songs it doesn’t matter that production might be slightly less impressive than the most impressive bands of the genre. It starts really well with Death Angel and then I think Narcissus, Temple of Mammon and Black Crystal Ball are quite memorable tracks worthy of mention. No tracks can be said to be weak on this very strong album, that composing disorder apparently led to some great compositions.

It is a recommended album, well worth checking out – especially if you like more melodic heavy metal stuff. It is compulsive and entertaining and a nice surprise, it is great with unexpected highlights in the mailbox.

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