X-ROMANCE ‘Voices From The Past’

X-ROMANCE was initially a project starting in 2015 as an offspring to the original band ROMANCE from 1988 founded by Anders "LA" Rönnblom & Thomas Widmark. In the fall of 2015, Anders was going through a box of old tapes and found the old ROMANCE recordings. He called up Thomas and because he thought that these tapes were too good to be put in a box and stored in a closet. In the following time, they went through all the tracks and re-recorded them. Widmark started to look for musicians in the Stockholm area. There were no problems to find guys who wanted be a part of this project; it was rather harder to find the right guys for the job.

The album was recorded and mixed at REFLECTION SOUNDS STUDIO, Stockholm and engineered and produced by Tomas Rosenberg & Thomas Widmark. Mastered by Tomas Rosenberg, REFLECTION SOUNDS STUDIO, Stockholm.

I must start by stating that there is some seriously good Scandinavian AOR on offer with this album. This release oozes some serious melodies and encapsulates the perfect set of tunes for those long summer car journeys.

It all kicks off with ‘Lonely’ and the keyboards are evident from the off with an almost Europe-esque feel and the vocal melodies provide a superb opener in all it’s 80’s AOR/Hair metal glory. ‘Bad Connection’ is up next and it takes things down a notch with an edgier feel to it. ‘Over and Over’ is melodic rock fantasy and the chorus is one that will get you singing it ‘Over and Over’ to excuse the rather obvious pun such is the infectious draw of the track. There is some seriously good guitar from Fredrik and Mikael on this album with clear, crisp, harmonious fretboard work that is top notch and deserving of the appreciation from every AOR lover out there and it is evident in the solo work on each song. ‘You and I’ is a catchy, mega melodic, mid-tempo power ballad and the vocal harmonies shine through again with what is one of the best tracks on the release. Next up is ‘Total Madness’ which is more fast paced with an almost Power AOR feel to it, if there is such a thing -well there is now and carries a harder feel to it.

‘Temporary Love’ carries itself off as a nice and sleazy track with some blistering fretting once more and a sexy, groovy grind and shows their ability to work with different sounds and approaches.

The other highlight on this album includes the obligatory ballad and this comes in the shape of ‘Somebody out there’ with the right pace and keyboard sparkle, along with harmonious guitars and the stunning vocal prowess of Andreas Novak.

The album is seen out with ‘Departure’ which is an instrumental only number and showcases the talents of all the fine musicianship on the album from Anders on Bass, Thomas on Keys, Fredrik and Mikael with their twin axe attack and rounded off with Kenta on Drums with what sounds like a double bass drum as well to give it that extra punch.

A throwback to the 80’s but with a sound for the modern day, taking in such sounds and influences from Scandinavian Rock such as Treat, Stage Dolls, TNT as well as Foreigner and for me a little Journey tossed in there for good measure! This is the best antidote for the blues and to kick off your summer with and this melodic masterpiece needs to be added to any discerning AOR fan’s collection ASAP!

X-Romance are:
ANDREAS NOVAK - Vocals (House Of Shakira)
ANDERS LA RÖNNBLOM - Bass guitar (Killer Bee)
THOMAS WIDMARK - Keyboard
FREDRIK TJERNELD - Lead & Rhythm Guitar
MIKAEL DAHLIN - Lead & Rhythm Guitar (Killer Bee)
KENTA KARLBOM - Drums (Goatess)
X-Romance – ‘Voices From The Past’ is released through AOR Heaven on the 24th May 2019