Hardland – In Control

Hardland

In Control

by Caio Botrel at 01 October 2019, 4:36 PM

HARDLAND was formed in 2015 in the city of Utrecht, Netherlands and has influences from the Melodic Hard Rock of the seventies and eighties. The band released their first studio album titled "Hardland" in 2017, their first EP "The Nation's Biggest Enemies" in 2019 and recently released their second studio album "In Control" also in 2019 and that's what we're going to talk about.

The first song from the album "The Nation's Biggest Enemies" was released on the eponymous EP and starts with a very groove guitar riff. The vocal lines are sung like a rap and reminded me of FAITH NO MORE. The music alternates between melodic and Groove and Rap parts. "Are Friends Electric" is a cover of the band TUBEWAY ARMY. The version is interesting and fun. The bass lines on this song are pretty cool and gave a nice touch.

After the cover comes in "The Powers Within" which starts with an interesting synth, followed by very heavy guitar riffs with a certain psychedelic and progressive vibe that came to resemble DREAM THEATHER. There is a solo with a very interesting Egyptian sound and created a tense ambience for the music. "Rise And Shine" begins with interesting keyboards and a vibe that reminded me of DEEP PURPLE. It's a fun song that has different melodies. The chorus is interesting and has beautiful melodies.

The next track "Haunted" starts with a horror movie scream and groovy riffs with a heavy bass and drums. The guitars complete the sound with interesting arrangements. It's a very hard 80's Hard Rock song and you'll start bang your head as soon as the first riffs sound. There is a Rock N’ Roll vibe solo as well. "Dazzled By The Presence Of Love" begins with good guitar riffs that reminded me of IRON MAIDEN from "Somewhere In Time." Then comes in a guitar with clear sound and a drums and bass completing the instrumental. It's a different song from the previous ones and it sounds great.

The next song "Love Love Love" starts with an accordion and has an extremely different vibe from all the other songs. There is an interesting and even curious ambience. "Pleasure And Pain", "Still Dreaming" and "Last Goodbye" end the album sequence and are fun songs, but with the same formula as the previous songs.

HARDLAND has released an album with good songwriting that will possibly please fans of the style.

Songwriting: 8
Originality: 8
Memorability: 6
Production: 9