Social Disorder: Love 2 Be Hated

Never, I hear myself say often, judge a CD by its cover, but surely any sleeve featuring a band with a name like Social Disorder, title such as Love 2 Be Hated and gritty art with skulls and the like on it HAS to be housing a hard hitting metal album… doesn’t it? Well, absolutely not. But then, surely an album with a cast list including the likes of Tracii Guns (LA Guns), Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy, Whitesnake and just about everybody else, ever), Shawn Duncan (Armored Saint) and Snowy Shaw (King Diamond, Dream Evil and many, many more) has to be a sure fire winner? Well…

Admittedly the latter of those four is merely a fleeting guest amongst many, but Guns, Sarzo and Duncan feature pretty much throughout on an album that in truth seems to be one of those projects revolving around a guitarist - who on this occasion is Wolfpakk man Anders LA Rönnblom - alongside the vocal talent of the previously little known Thomas Nordin. And that lad can surely sing, what with him possessing a convincing howl that’s capable of handling the more metallic edge of classic rock with real authority. Which is just as well, because that’s exactly what Social Disorder serve up on this debut album.

Released through AFM and produced by Rönnblom himself, the whole thing sounds superb, with the guitars biting and drums pounding as Nordin grabs everything in sight - barring the closing instrumental - by the throat and refuses to let go. On the slower, heart tugging “The One�, there’s a bit of Joey Tempest about the way he allows the emotion to hit hime, whereas on the more melodic hard Whitesnake slither of “Windy Road�, he smacks home like a gritty Joe Lynn Turner. That said, from the full throttle stomp of “Dreaming� to the swirling grind of “Raise A Glass�, it’s difficult to find fault with any of the performances on show, and the inherent swagger should ensure that any fan of that ever so slightly European take on the classic rock scene that we heard a lot of in the early noughties, will find a lot to steal their attention. The question, however, is whether there’s quite enough about this album to then completely keep hold of it, with the unmistakable thought that we’ve heard this approach many, many times before unfortunately unavoidable.

There’s no doubt that I’ve enjoyed what Social Disorder have to say and in Rönnblom and Nordin they possess a truly talented one-two punch that’s well augmented by the all-star cast. What’s missing is that vital spark that makes it all truly stand out from the crowd - when it’s spinning this album is good, but once it stops, it’s not quite so easy to find any of it that’s stuck in the memory banks. I certainly don’t love 2 hate this album, but then neither can I say that what Social Disorder have served up here really leaves a lasting mark.

Track Listing
1. Windy Road
2. Dreaming
3. Scars
4. Love 2 Be Hated
5. Raise A Glass
6. Sail Away
7. Down On My Knees
8. Out Of Love
9. The One
10. Wings Of Serenity

Added: January 15th 2022
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Love 2 Be Hated @ AFM
Hits: 427
Language: english

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