Sweet Mary Jane
Winter in Paradise

Winter in Paradise, I don’t think they mean winter in their hometown Sundsvall which can be described almost as the opposite of paradise. And what about the band name? It isn’t a good one; I wonder how many seconds they thought about that and then regretted it since the album had gone to the presses. But it has a good artwork and it comes on AOR Heaven and that is a label that usually puts out good stuff, and this album is no exception to this rule.

It is AOR that meets metal, kind of a heavier version of the genre known as AOR with catchy choruses and all of that. The production is good and the vocalist is decent, as is the variation. But we are getting no surprises on this one; it is more or less the songs you can expect from an album in the AOR-genre. Even the playing time of 40 minutes on ten tracks feels a bit typical of this kind of music. So, it is what one can expect.

And it is good with catchy tracks and music you could sing along with. That’s all well and good but it isn’t a very memorable album and you should really make something memorable or fresh if you want to be noticed in a very saturated music scene. It seems like they have gotten all the fillers right on this album but forgotten to include the hit songs, the songs that should hook you onto the album – perhaps they thought too hard on the title and band name that they forgot.

It is a decent debut album that can be said to be a promising one, showcasing a band that could have potential for something exciting. This album should last you a few plays before it is forgotten in time for next month’s AOR Heaven or Frontiers release.

HHHHHHH