Label: Pride & Joy Music
Release date: 11/19/2021
Production: Heart Line
Album length: 46.32 min
Genre: AOR revival / Melodic Rock
Rating: 8.5/10
Heart Line are a new French band devoted to the AOR revival. The crew is built around five seasoned musicians, led by guitarist, main songwriter and producer Yvan Guillevic (YGAS, PYG, United Guitars), who is joined by: vocalist Emmanuel Creis (Shadyon, Equinox), keyboardist Jorris Guilbaud (Devoid, Shadyon), drummer Walter Français (Shadyon) and bassist Dominique Braud (YGAS, EBH).
So? Don’t mix them up with the Americans Hardline, the Brits Heartland, or, heaven forbid, by all the unholy devils, the Slovenian rock e-media outlet RockLine. Vision-wise, this is a well-defined, polished musical entity that brings nothing new, but whatever it sets out to do on its debut “Back in the Game”, it does with the perfectionism of a brilliant reheater of that old musical stew, which was founded and written mostly back in the first half of the eighties.
Ten tracks drop the listener straight into the bosom of the eighties. In the production, the arrangements, the performance, all of it. French bands usually aren’t big on singing too much in English, which goes back to history itself, but Heart Line are extremely convincing in this department. Years ago, for example, the Australian White Widdow burst onto the scene, although they’ve pretty much vanished without a trace in recent years. Heart Line’s songwriting approach is at times very similar (e.g. I’m in Heaven), only Heart Line go for a livelier, more organic production, more cranked-up guitars and somewhat more varied, diverse rustling eighties synth sounds. In any case, vocalist Emmanuel Creis, with his pleasing, infectious delivery and vocal tone, puts the all-important dot on the ‘i’ for the songs and the band’s expression, reaching a credibility that fans of AOR and melodic rock won’t be able to fault in the least.
“Back in the Game” is an incredibly listenable record, a good three-quarters of an hour long, without a minute wasted. Skillfully arranged and daintily packaged as a recycling of what’s already been invented, with the band citing as the core of its inspiration, among others: Winger, Giant, Foreigner (check out the second-to-last song on the album, the ballad In the City), Whitesnake. Enough said.
The album’s huge appeal is boosted by the excellent guitar work of Yvan Guillevic, who stuns with the dizzying, razor-sharp technical polish of his solos, especially within the middle-eight passages. When keyboardist Jorris Guilbaud joins in with solos of his own, as hinted at in Fire Dance or the closing ‘party time’ I Long To Rise, Heart Line hit a brilliant moment of flipping the atmosphere and lifting the dynamics, without letting go for even a second of that feeling for keeping the musicality high. The same goes for the high dynamics in how things unfold across the album. With the exception of the punchy yet somewhat drawn-out, whiny ballad Once In A Lifetime, “Back in the Game” stays seriously sharp and rocking. Despite sailing in AOR revival waters, where you’d expect a somewhat softer guitar production. The chorus melodies are wrapped in ravenous bombast, and the songs keep stealing the spotlight from each other. The album speaks to you nostalgically, and with it Heart Line prove that here’s yet another band that true fans of the genre will adopt on the spot and make their own. That’s how convincing their recycling is.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Fighting To Live (4:50)
2. One Night In Paradise (4:05)
3. Hold On (3:53)
4. I’m In Heaven (4:55)
5. On Fire (3:33)
6. Back In The Game (3:59)
7. Once In A Lifetime (4:27)
8. Fire Dance (3:51)
9. Stranger In The Night (4:13)
10. In The City (4:56)
11. I Long To Rise (3:43)
Line-up:
Emmanuel Shadyon Creis – vocals
Yvan Guillevic – guitar
Jorris Guilbaud – keyboards
Dominique Braud – bass guitar
Walter Français – drums
