Into the sunset... riding on a rhinoceros!Erik Norlander's primary influences, at least on the present album, seem to flow from two main sources: On the one hand, he follows in the footsteps of classic Heavy Rock and Neo- Classical Metal acts like Deep Purple, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, and Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force. On the other hand, he follows virtuoso Symphonic Prog-keyboardists like Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. Both sides appeal to me and this does indeed make for a good mix, but it is not quite as great as such a description might indicate. This album's Classic Rock side has more in common with the Deep Purple of the Glenn Hughes-era (Hughes does indeed guest on this album!) and the Rainbow of the Joe Lynn Turner-era than with the more progressive eras of those great bands. The lead vocals by Glenn Hughes reinforces the Classic Rock feel of the disc. The Prog side of Into The Sunset has more in common with an Emerson or Wakeman solo album than with anything by ELP or Yes. The presence of Arjen Anthony Lucassen, and Norlander's wife Lana Lane gives further hints of what to expect here.
With this said, I must say that this is a quite nice album. It is melodic and features strong vocal and instrumental performances. It is enjoyable though not very original. Needless to say, it is very heavily keyboard dominated and will appeal to fans of keyboard-driven heavy Rock with strong progressive touches. I belong to this group myself and will definitely check out more of Norlander's music.
Recommended, but hardly essential
SouthSideoftheSky | 3/5 |
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