Baltimoore - Back For More

Baltimoore

Back For More

by YngwieViking at 26 April 2014, 1:30 AM

The BALTIMOORE story is quite complicated, with an amazing turn-over of outstanding players and a musical chair syndrome in the lineup, the whole history is stretched for over than twenty five years and twelve albums : still active and kicking, here is a proof of life with the brand new release "Back For More".

BALTIMOORE’s first incarnation had come about in 1987, right after when the vocalist Björn Lodin had left SIX FEET UNDER (by the way, theirs albums “Eruption” or 1983’s self-titled are still quite recommended), but after the early member's departures and lots of hassles, the band had morphed and had quickly turned into a different beast, it becoming Björn’s solo-project. The famous "There's No Danger On the Roof" was released in Spring of ´89, since then the constant changing mania was the norm, their timeline was astonishing, a real saga: in the course of the years it became like a the who’s who of the Swedish Hard Rock scene, with an impressive list of talented musicians involved in the band. The only remaining member is of course the charismatic Mr. Lodin , he relocated the band many times from Hungary to Finland and back to Sweden again, he killed and then resurrect BALTIMOORE a countless times, he formed an all-star project BALLS, was added as frontman into the ranks of H.A.R.D., played with Lars Eric Mattson and ASTRAL GROOVE etc…

Their signature sound was under an old school genre, honestly played it was always influenced by a strong bluesy flavor, occasionally more Classic Rock / AOR or just Hard Rock depending on the era and mood, one thing is for sure the quality stamp was always obvious in BALTIMOORE’s music.

BALTIMOORE's 12th album, was release in March 2014 on BLP Music, once again, the fans of classic hard rock will find with “Back For More” another breath of fresh air with a constant adrenaline rush, testosterone fueled big riffs, organic guitar tones, Hammond organ layers, ultra tight rhythm section and stunning vocal melodies and a positive attitude yet updated by a new found heaviness and aggressively as perhaps never before. "Back For More" is enhanced with a raw attitude & a gruff behavior in the vocal delivery and a variety in the melodic colors, revealing a subtle spirit in the harmonies yet maybe it’s the band heaviest ever.

The first four tracks are exemplary of an album composed under massive dose of Rock stamina, with an improved headroom dynamic and a sharp sonic rendition, with refreshing diversity melted with ingeniously crafted tunes, indeed the new fresh contemporary heavy straight style is more than convincing, the more than decent production, the timeless musical values and the clever attention to basic songwriting are obvious.

Thanks to a rejuvenated style already initiated with “Quick Fix” in 2009, those elements are set in a traditional Hard Rock method but far from the Nostalgia trap. With the songs mentioned before and other cuts like “Means To An End” or the mellower “Sunshine In The Rain” the future is bright for Björn Lodin’s brainchild… A legendary Swedish outfit named BALTIMOORE is back… And I want more.