Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Revertigo
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2018
Running time: 47:32
Rating: 3.5/5
And then there’s Revertigo! A project, really. It’s a long-cherished idea and wish that has been smoldering for years between two old buddies whose packed schedules in their respective musical worlds never left them the time to put together a joint album. They are vocalist Mats Leven (Candlemass Trans Siberian Orchestra, ex-Therion, ex-Y.J. Malmsteen) and guitarist Anders Wikström, without whom the cult Swedish hard rockers Treat would never have existed.
As expected, »Revertigo« is the record that sounds most like what Treat have been doing on their albums in recent years. Very simple. If you know Treat and especially dig the band’s last two studio albums, you’ll adopt the debut studio album from Revertigo in no time. The similarity isn’t even surprising, since Leven and Wikström put the material for the joint album together recently, rather than dusting off old ideas that had been waiting years to be realized. So Wikström simply carried his current musical philosophy over to »Revertigo«, the same one he uses for writing new Treat music.
The songs are brimming with ultra-melodic catchiness, with peaks of mood in singalong choruses that also borrow some inspiration from the famous AOR rhetoric of the eighties. But the production is considerably harder, less glossy, rawer, so what stands out in the sound are above all Wikström’s riffs and his more-than-striking solos, while the two of them don’t skimp on keyboard arrangements either, which they use to offer the odd transitional ornament, if not a full-on solo spot. But as said, »Revertigo« is by nature a sharper hard rock album, where the guitar takes up the most room in the sonic picture of all the instruments.. Considering the album was made in a very short time, it’s defined by its compactness. Credible songwriting. There are no moments on the album that would be weak or indecisive in terms of composition. The formulaic mold generated by the predictability of the melodic rock genre is certainly here, but that’s the price of longevity for a genre that today is in many ways almost archaic, one where pretty much everything was said long ago.
Leven is as piercing and distinctive as ever with his brilliant vocal contribution. The compositions follow the fundamentals of the Scandinavian school of hard rock. That’s why this album will also be very appealing to those of you who follow, say, the Swedish revival bands led by the likes of Eclipse, and the nod to the melodic hard rock appeal of the old school isn’t excessive either, the kind you find with the Swiss band Gotthard, the Danes Pretty Maids, and not so far removed from that either are Whitesnake in the era of the album »1987«.
Leven and Wikström recorded, produced, wrote and played all the material. All by themselves. Well, almost. Except for the drums, of course. For those they called in their colleague Thomas Broman to the studio, who previously drummed for Michael Schenker, Great King Rat and Electric Boys. »Revertigo« doesn’t bring a musical revolution, but it is a very solid, decent and quality melodic hard rock album from the orthodox Scandinavian school. Artistically there are no »earth-shattering jolts«, which means Leven and Wikström are living in a tried-and-tested musical environment, one they’ve always known best and handled with skill.
Line-up
Mats Levén – vocals, guitar, keyboards
Anders Wikström – guitar, bass, keyboards, backing vocals
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Thomas Broman – drums
Production
Mats Levén & Anders Wikström
Track list
1. Hoodwinked
2. Sailing Stones
3. Symphony Of Fallen Angels
4. The Cause
5. Gate Of The Gods
6. False Flag
7. Unobtainium
8. Luciferian Break Up
9. Joan Of Arc
10. Break Away
11. In Revertigo
