CD-Review: Art Nation - "Liberation"

So here we have another Melodic Rock band from Sweden, called Art Nation. Sweden is always a seal for approval when it comes to quality rock music, so it was no wonder that the debut album from these guys hit the melodic rock community really hard back in 2015. They came out of nowhere and they succeeded all the way. With that said, now two years later they are ready for their second strike, named "Liberation".





While the first album "Revolution" was released by the smaller German label AOR Heaven, "Liberation" came out in the end of April this year from Sony Music/Gain, so it seems that not just a small group of people thinks that this band has something special to offer, but is the new record really that good?

Well, the only thing you could complain about is the lack of own identity that comes along with this album. There were a lot .... and I mean a LOT of moments when this record reminded me at Eclipse, H.e.a.t or One Desire, because melodies and arrangements are often similar to these bands. So I would have liked a more unique twist to the songs. Does that mean it's bad? Not by any means! If you are looking for some feel good songs to rock your summer - there are plenty of them on "Liberation".

Starting with the tasty opener "Ghost Town" that comes along with great hooks over to the fist-pumping "One Nation" to the closing "What Do You Want"- you can't do melodic rock any better. All songs have the power and the catchiness to them you would expect from such a record and even more, because Art Nation put two outstanding over-the-top-hits on this record. The first one is "Kiss Up & Kick Down" which combines an 80's influenced, anthemic chorus with more modern verses and the second one is the power ballad "When Stars Align" - what a monster of a song this one is. It starts slow just to built up and explode in a massive chorus that will stick in your eares for weeks.  Just these two songs alone justify the purchase.

Also on the thechnical side there is not much to complain about: the power is there, it is produced very well, everything is played very well and singer Alexander Strandell has a voice that fits perfectly to this style of music.

In short: if you are a fan of the bands I mentioned above (or if you simply love Scandi Rock) and you can ignore the fact that Art Nation lean strongly to the formular of those bands instead of putting more unique elements into their songs, than this is for you. "Liberation" is a very good record - even better than the debut album, so buy this album, sit down in you car, open the windows and blast it as loud as you can. Then you'll see: this is the perfect summer record.

9/10

Tracklist:

01. Ghost Town *
02. Maniac
03. The Real Me
04. Kiss Up & Kick Down *
05. When Stars Align *
06. One Nation *
07. A Thousand Charades
08. Take Me Home
09. I'm Alive
10. Paralyzed
11. What Do You Want *

* best tracks