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Wheels Within Wheels

    
       
       
       
     
             
Vitalines are a melodic rock band based in Sweden formed by singer Robbie LaBlanc and studio guru and songwriter Tommy Denander. The bands debut album 'Wheels Within Wheels' was released in 2023...    
             
...featuring Denander on guitars, bass, and keyboards, LaBlanc (Blanc Faces, Find Me, T3NORS) on vocals, and Neil Anami on drums. And let's be honest, Sweden is a hotbed for extraordinary rock bands, delivering the best in the business for nigh on fifty years! And you can now add Vitalines to the country's esteemed legacy, the bands new album a fifty minute stroll of melodic rock come AOR in the vein of such luminaries as Journey, Survivor and Toto. The band breathe life into the album with the energetic up tempo rocker 'Judgement Day Is Here', planting smiles a mile wide on the faces of every listener all around the world. The impact of 'Judgement Day Is Here' is emphatic, breezing through the airways with elegance, the band delivering a belter of an opening salvo - 'Love Not Fantasy' maintaining the albums uplifting start, albeit with a more traditional hard rock feel than the melodic AOR of 'Judgement Day Is Here'. A diverse opening one-two, but a one-two firmly encased in the aura of stadium rock.    
             
An aura that simply gets stronger and stronger, 'Wheels Within Wheels' trotting on with the foot stomper 'Hello World We Need To Talk'. And a party feel starts to emanate from the album, every listener, fan and follower getting up to strut their stuff like they're Tony Mareno with a fever on a Saturday night! The silky smooth voice of LaBlanc is incredible, perfectly suited to this type of rock, the album moving in the direction of driving anthems with the hardest hitting song heard so far - 'Cards From Another Game' turning heads wherever it's heard and played. In the car is where it's gonna be played the most, the volume turned way up, the windows wound fully down, everyone in close proximity feeling the power of a feel good song! And there's just no stopping the avalanche of infectious rock, 'Love And Thunder' entering the fray faster than everything heard so far. The thundering barrage of bombastic AOR is gonna involuntarily nod heads and tap feet at a fairly vigorous speed, smiles from ear to ear forming on every listeners face!    
             
Halfway through the album now, the melodic rock march in full swing, the band delivering the longest song on offer, 'When Spirits Fight' clocking in at a mighty six and a half minutes in length - at least two minutes longer than any other song on the album! And it really sounds like impending balladry, Vitalines strolling forth with a mellowness not heard previously. But don't be fooled, 'When Spirits Fight' gets heavier - heavier in rock terms not metal ones - keeping lighters in pockets and stopping everyone swaying from side to side. The up tempo, uplifting nature of 'Wheels Within Wheels' is magical, keeping every listener hooked, the album marching on with an eighties feel courtesy of the heavy pop rocker 'You Never Know With Magic' - a slightly harder feel flowing outta the speakers. A feel that takes me back to a glorious time for rock evolution, a time when I was listening to everything from Journey to Judas Priest, Survivor to Slayer, and Elvis Presley! Yep, you read that right - the king of rock and roll was a firm favourite of my sister, and because she was older than me, she would always call dibs on what was played on the stereo! But as soon as I could afford one of my own, it was metal and rock all the way! A sedate pace descends upon the album in the shape of 'Life Waits For No One', the combination of melodic rock with AOR an incredibly infectious sound that hits the sweet spot time and time again!    
             
And there's plenty of sweet spot hitting going on here on, every song heard so far delivered with absolute precision, the band not missing a beat - nor taking a breather either! The eighties pop swagger returns for 'You Are The Reason I Am', the rock avalanche continuing its all conquering take over - of the airways, the senses, and the world! The fallout from 'Wheels Within Wheels' is gonna be felt all around the world, every rock fan enjoying the moment. Well, eleven moments really - as there's eleven songs on offer! The title song 'Wheels Within Wheels' oozes energy in abundance, stretching smiles to the widest they've ever been - literally stretching them from ear to ear! And as we head for the albums final song, could we be listening to a modern rock album that doesn't actually feature the customary ballad? Holy shit yes we are - 'Nothing But Silence' bringing a hymn-like nature to the fore, along with a touch of the anthemic. The last fifty minutes have simply flown by, every song highly catchy and immensely infectious.    
             
Overall, a melodic rock come AOR swagger, Vitalines have delivered an addictive array of songs that'll keep you hooked from minute one to minute fifty.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
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