Europe: Come This Madness

Come This Madness is the 12th studio album from Swedish hard rockers Europe, out now on Silver Lining Music, released 9 years after Walk the Earth .

"One on One" opens, so groovy, with chunky riffs, and serious bottom end; bass is booming, orchestral keys at the beginning, organ throughout; Joey singing great, catchy as all hell, tasty little guitar solo from John Norum, who never fails to impress. Love it! That's followed by "The Cult of Ignorance" with a nice synth flair to start things off, and then the anthemic riffs kick in. Joey turns in a playful vocal. Hooks are everywhere. I think for those wanting a return to the huge 80s choruses, this one is for you. Lyrics are rooted in modern times topical themes. We then move into the title track, "Come This Madness" a crushing, heavy song; love the menacing riff to kick things off, supported by spooky keys. More of a serious Joey vocal here.Another strong chorus. A highlight track for me! Blistering Norum solo too, which is also nice to have! Next up is "This Time of Year" a mellow, heartfelt song that seems to signal that with the coming holiday season humanity can still triumph...I really like the message here, which is all about family and friends gathering together and making the best of things despite how the world might be a mess.

"In a Different World" is another darker, bluesy hard rocker, with catchy riffing from John; again, similar lyrical themes seem to pop up here, wishing for better times for the world. Catchy stuff and it rocks, Joey again sounding great My favorite song is up next, "Scandinavian Eyes", which is very orchestral to start, and it quickly morphs into a churning, complex hard rocker, that isn't all unlike what we've heard on the last few albums. Cool & melodic keyboard and guitar solos. It's a strong headbanger. "Takin' It Back" has awesome opening lead guitar work from Norum, and this is a fast-paced hard rocker with another memorable chorus. There are some little nods to the neo-classical flair of the first 2 albums here. Great song!

"In the Absence of Grace" is a piano, synth and vocal mellow piece...will be throwaway for some, but heavy lyrically to present-day world troubles and ideas. It's followed by "The Angels Must Have Flown" which features more heavy grooves and riffs plus soaring keys. Joey again shining, and Ian pounding the drums hard. Blazing Norum solo too, which is always a good thing! "The Devil's Back" is classic heavy rock at its best; this has clear Deep Purple and Sabbath influences, great riffing and organ, Joey giving a mysterious yet powerful vocal performance, with another tasty Norum solo. The album closes with "Nothing Can Follow This" with a brooding acoustic opening that gives way to crushing hard rock guitar mixed with sophisticated electric piano, a very confident vocal from Joey...lots of Rainbow vibes here circa Rising/Long Live Rock n Roll era.

Overall, this is another in a fine line of recent latter-day releases from Europe, who I've long said are making better albums now than they did back in the '80s.

Track Listing
1. One On One
2. The Cult Of Ignorance
3. Come This Madness
4. This Time Of Year
5. In A Different World
6. Scandinavian Eyes
7. Takin’ It Back
8. In The Absence Of Grace
9. The Angels Must Have Flown
10. The Devil’s Back
11. Nothing Can Follow This

Joey Tempest -lead vocals, backing vocals
John Norum - guitars, additional backing vocals
Mic Michaeli -keyboards, orchestral arrangements, additional backing vocals
John Levén -bass guitar
Ian Haugland - drums

Guest musicians:
Mikael Ã…kerfeldt
Tobias Forge
Fredrik Ã…kesson

Added: October 29th 2026
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 42
Language: english

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