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Angel Heart

      
         
         
         
     
             
Angel Heart are a female fronted melodic hard rock band from Norway formed in 2011 by three ex members of Highland Glory, Lars Andre Larsen, Trine Elise Johansen and Morten Faerovig. After ten years with Highland Glory and three album releases, the three band members felt it was the right time for a change, adding Oystein Aaseby Pedersen to the band to become a four piece... And so Angel Heart was formed, with the bands self titled debut album released in 2018.    
             
The heavy metal music style to emerge from Norway is usually of the black metal variety, with the band members covered in corpse paint, but in the shape of new band Angel Heart, that trend is about to be bucked, big time... Playing a much more melodic hard rock style, blended with AOR, touches of soft rock and a hint of the symphonic, Angel Heart are a breath of fresh air. Bombastic album opener 'Burning Desire' is quickly into its stride, marching on at a mid tempo pace, full of energy and infectious grooves, with an immense and majestic vocal performance. Anthemic melodic hard rock takes on a new definition with the magical 'Run Away With Me'. Delivered with an intensity I haven't heard for a very long time, everything reverberating from 'Run Away With Me' is just massive. Big chunky riffs, majestic melodies, and an amazing, very powerful vocal performance, Angel Heart have delivered a brilliant song. After only just two songs, Angel Heart step up a gear with 'I Don't Need Love'. Worthy of a performance in a theatrical auditorium, 'I Don't Need Love' is a climactic and "tension filled" fantastic song that literally took my breath away.    
             
'Forever Free' maintains the albums intensity and majestic march, back the bombastic sound of the albums opener. Rumbling along 'Forever Free' is catchy and infectious with a sing a long style chorus. The self titled debut album from Angel Heart is gonna be a huge hit across a number of different musical genres, such is its variety and appeal. Mellow and soulful, 'She Is Strong' is a sway from side to side ballad, tension filled and gloriously epic. The style in which Angel Heart are delivering their first album is so massive, it's like the difference between mono and stereo, normal and Dolby surround sound, base model and top of the range . . . simply breath taking. The album just keeps better and better, with 'My Spirit Will Live On' forging a fantastical listening experience, the powerful melodies and catchy grooves capturing your senses, to give you that tingly feeling all over. Clocking in at over seven minutes in length, 'My Spirit Will Live On' is a wonderful journey and one that I am happy to take many times over. This album is so epic sounding that it deserves to be played loud, everywhere, over and over.    
             
Bringing an eighties hard rock feel to the album, 'Rock Friends' embodies everything the eighties rock evolution gave us. The buzzing style guitar sound is infectious, the chorus is one hundred percent sing a long able, with 'Rock Friends' taking on the mantle of epic and anthemic hard rock. Worth the wait is the six minutes plus glorious, (and coincidently titled) 'Worth The Wait'. The immense delivery, the infectious and addictive rhythm, the vocal performance and sing a long ability of the songs chorus is perfection, the hairs on the back of my arms standing tall, for every second of the songs six minutes and twenty nine seconds length. Indeed, the chorus delivery gives me the impression of a gospel choir, all singing in unison with hands clapping, enticing their audience to sing along too. In a live arena, 'Worth The Wait' has gotta be played, the crowd participation will be an experience I wanna be a part of. 'Worth The Wait' is a spectacular song, worthy of the immense praise I have bestowed upon it. By the biggest country mile ever, this for me, is the best song on the album and is now also, an all time favourite song of mine. 'Sailing Against The Wind' brings the album to a close, but what a way to close an album. Over seven minutes of epic and glorious mid tempo tension filled melodic hard rock. For fifty minutes, Angel Heart have performed with passion and delivered an album worthy of a top spot in anyone's collection of hard rock.    
             
Overall, top notch melodic hard rock, tension filled and epic, with an outstanding sound and an awesome vocal performance, this is a cracking debut.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
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