H.E.A.T. - Heat (CD)

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This is the newest 'hottest' melodic Hard Rock 'export' product from Sweden? I'm not asking, I just try to sum it up in my bombarded brain. H.E.A.T. is the band and melting you'll merely get if you're into the 'melodic' Scandinavian Rock style. With TREAT and EUROPE in one pack, you'd be digging for something else right now? This is possibly the top genre-related release for this year we're now running.
How did I come across H.E.A.T.? By chance. Some MySpace checking, a hint or two regarding earlier reviews and…booom me at first sight (or audition). A top-notch singer is on first spot. Kenny Leckremo's voice is gigantic. Just imagine a mix of Jimi Jamison, Steve Perry, Steve Overland, Robert Ernlund and Toby Hitchcock and prepare yourself to get more impressed for sure. The ultra-melodic tone of his voice, the warmth in slowest parts, the AOR-influenced chorus singing…he does not get pressured into providing mid-to-high but passionate vocals.
Still, the music is H.E.A.T.'s other story. There's tons of melody over here, while you'll not get tired by some 'candy' sound. The production is 'grand', pounding and with full volume, so that you can use Heat for your night drive but also for singing/dancing along at your favorite Hard Rock club. There's been a tremendous work done at the songwriting, with catchy choruses, great couple ideas, smart bridges and more than the average 'goodies' we get from Sweden the last 20 years. With an ample rhythm section setting the field for some Scandinavian soloing, while great-sounding keys and applicable backing vocals compile the whole picture, I tried to come up with a proper 'weapon' in regards to why this band/album is so superior.
Well, when you get the harmonies of EUROPE, the mid-pace melody of TREAT, the passionate grooves of THE STORM, the instrumentation of (hardrockin' era) Yngwie Malmsteen's band, the musicianship of TALISMAN, the American legacy of JOURNEY and LOVERBOY/HONEYMOON SUITE, the West Coast tactics of TOTO (the band opened up for this gigantic band in summer 2007 in a Swedish gig), the multi-vocaling fantasy of DEF LEPPARD and the current spirit of the whole Scandinavian Hard rock stream, it's not that difficult to sum it up to a relevant conclusion. There For You is dominated by its intro lead, Never Let Go bears this FM blend, Late Night Lady changes the album's mood by delivering a straight TALISMAN/GIANT-groovy rocker, Keep On Dreaming brought SURVIVOR or STAGE DOLLS to mind…and the list goes on. Not even one filler, not a single one.
It is to be reminded that EUROPE's first petite introduction to the Scandinavian world was when they won a 'battle of the bands' competition in Sweden back in 1982. Why is this reference made? Simply 'cause H.E.A.T. won the same rivalry in 2004, as I had the chance to read in a couple of Swedish reviews in prior. History repeats itself? We really hope, since Heat is more than a sensational album that will set your 'melodic' Hard Rock hunger on nonstop fire. It really is.