Alien
Into the Future

Into the future, I think that has to be a pretty misleading title for an album like this with music that feels more regressive than progressive. But the artwork is pretty nice and a tad futuristic, and totally misrepresentative for this album. It is four years since last time I wrote about Alien, back then I was pretty positive about their album that was very good. A long time has passed since then and it appears as though vocalist Jim Jidhed who sounded pretty tired then has aged a lot and sounds even more tired now, and is probably in the more extreme risk category when it comes to that virus we have floating around these days due to his old age. But even though the singer is old and infirm, the same isn’t necessarily true about the music itself that could still be vital.

It is pretty classic AOR, catchy choruses, distinct melodies and that sort of thing. There are no surprises but there is life and some energy in the songs, some are nice fast ones even. But the vocals are dull, and Jim Jidhed sounds really old, and not particularly vital and I would say that he can be considered a weakness for the band. The album is quite long, and it could probably have benefited from being more varied, but I think it is a good production.

Not exactly an album that goes into the future, but a good album and it sounds pretty vital and has some energetic songs like my favourite The Time is Right. So, there are enjoyable songs, pretty dreary vocals, perhaps they should have borrowed Erik Mårtensson who did the mastering in order to get some great vocals for this album. But even with less strong vocals, it is still a good album with pretty enjoyable songs, some of them even pretty great and energetic. A likeable album.

If you like Alien or the AOR genre it is a good choice for you, and you should take a closer look at this one as it is a high likelihood that you will find this a good album. The title may be wrong, unless reverse course is the way into the future. Personally, I am not so sure it is an album for the future, it is enjoyable but also a bit forgettable but before forgetting the album you could enjoy it for a while but I think Alien did better albums in the past.

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