Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Jaded Heart
Label: Bob-Media Gmbh & Co.KG
Release date: September 27, 2013
Running time: 32:44
Rating: 4/5
The German melodic hard rock outfit Jaded Heart, who for over twenty years have been counted among Europe’s finest whenever the conversation turns to the genre, are unfairly overlooked in this new era. Passed over, and not reaping what they’ve earned through sheer effort for their past work. A string of excellent albums, whether in the first era with Michael Bormann on vocals or in the newer one with his successor, the no less brilliant Swedish singer Johan Fahlberg.
The band, who put out the album »Common Destiny« last year, got the chance to join »the German Blackmore« Axel Rudi Pell on his German »Circle Of The Oath« tour between October 16 and 18, 2012. Opening for A.R. Pell on the whole tour were the German »white« hard rockers Mad Max, whose drummer is a guy named Axel Kruse, who is also Jaded Heart’s drummer. So there’s obviously an insider connection here that let Jaded Heart jump on this leg of the tour as special guests. The small hall in Cologne called Essigfabrik is a space with great acoustics, and it also lets you set up several cameras for filming.
The band got a good half hour to carve out a set, and it ended up being seven Jaded Heart songs, all written during the Johan Fahlberg era. That night the band delivered an outstanding performance and great sound. It’s wired up toxic, and the guitar riffs, bristling and fierce, cut through concrete without compromise. The band served up a devastating display of top-notch tightness, and the crown jewel of this album, besides Peter Őstros’s excellent soloing, backed by the sonic boost of Henning Wanner’s blanket of keyboards and a filigree-tuned rhythm section, is Johan Fahlberg’s superb vocal performance. Besides their exceptional knack for melodic grandeur, the band’s strength has always been the masterful coloring of the lead vocal harmonies with backing harmonies, and once again that’s handled beautifully.
The DVD has the identical recording as the audio disc. It’s interesting to watch how reserved, in fact downright uninterested, the German crowd is in what’s happening on stage. It only confirms that Germans are »up to their necks« in live offerings in the melodic hard rock field, and that most people came to the show primarily to see Axel Rudi Pell. The band gives it everything and definitely doesn’t disappoint. The German crowd just doesn’t react and stays stone cold. But a crew of Jaded Heart’s caliber is far too experienced, heartfelt and professional to be thrown off by something like that. Over the years they’ve gotten used to that kind of response and grown a thick skin. We can say that, given the situation, Jaded Heart made the most of the opportunity they were handed.
The only thing that’s truly sad is that Jaded Heart can’t play as the headliner of a tour, so they can’t afford a proper double live album and/or a DVD with at least a two-hour concert film. A tour like that would be a disaster and a financial flop for everyone. So the band stuck a few documentary snippets from their visit to Japan, where they managed to scrape a tour together, onto the DVD that comes with this live CD. Lucky for them, because the enthusiasm of the Japanese crowd is exactly what a band like Jaded Heart comes for, since in Europe, to this day, the general public has sadly (still) not given them proper recognition for their past work, a string of excellent studio albums.
Better seven songs than nothing. Fans of the band surely won’t be disappointed. And one more thing. Jaded Heart are promoting the album »Common Destiny« this October too. In a package with the headliners, power metallers Masterplan, and the »openers« Mystic Prophecy. If you’re a melodic hard rock fan and you’ve got a bit more than your average Slovenian going on in your pants, you might just find your live-music comfort in catching Jaded Heart on this current October tour! On October 14, 2013, they play Munich, Germany, at the club Backstage.
Line-up
Johan Fahlberg – vocals
Peter Östros – guitar
Henning Wanner – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
Michael Mueller – bass guitar, backing vocals
Axel Kruse – drums
Track list
1. Hero (5:02)
2. Saints Denied (3:52)
3. Run and Hide (4:26)
4. Fly Away (5:18)
5. Life Is Beautiful (4:08)
6. Justice Is Deserved (5:19)
7. With You (4:39)
