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Belgium outfit Frozen Rain released a self-titled debut in 2008 and it was more a solo project which became a band, but that's all I know about their past. So let's talk about the present! The new album is called Ahead Of Time and Frozen Rain mastermind Kurt Vereecke hired Carsten 'Lizard' Schulz to sing his songs. The songs have been written by the current line-up and this time it's only one singer - Carsten Schulz.
The opener Believe It Or Not reminds me a bit of Bon Jovi, but due to Lizard's vocals it gets a different edge. Anyway, musically Frozen Rain are based on melodic metal / hard rock spiced up with keyboard and a dash of 80's. The fast Forever is a catchy tune with a memorable guitar line by Rik Priem. The following Breakin' Out is a bit too repetitive for me... After another 80's-tinged tune they present a keyboard-laden power ballad called Too Late which is written by Kurt's daughter Joke. Time to speed up again, Turn It On is more guitar-based than the previous ones. The title track sticks out with the spoken words part at the opening passage, it also shows different facets of Frozen Rain. But for me the tune is a bit lengthy... Even if The Last Dance Ain't Over isn't a short tune and the vocals are partly repetitive it works way better. even if I can't really explain why. The closer Voodoo Party begins differently, it starts with alienated vocals, but then they get back on track. The memorable guitar play is dominating this one as it's an instrumental and so the guitar sings. The spoken words at the opening passage are done by Chris Swinney who co-wrote some tunes and did backings on two tracks. I always state that I'm not a big fan of instrumentals, but as a closer you can stop the CD earlier, but I suggest to listen to it at least once, coz due to the singing guitar it's entertaining.
It's a decent album with a great voice, but it lacks some catchiness... The basis is good and who knows, perhaps next time they surprise us with some catchy tunes.
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