Degreed: Are You Ready

Just what are they putting in the water in Sweden? It seems nowadays that a single day can’t go by without hearing about yet another AOR/Melodic Rock band coming out from said country. It really is becoming very difficult to keep up with it all, and also it goes without saying that the ubiquitous Frontiers Records are the label that Degreed find themselves on.

Sorry if that opening seems a tad tiresome, but I`ll endeavour to stick to the album in question rather than the scene overall that they find themselves in.

This is the bands sixth studio offering, following on from 2019`s Lost Generation and it strikes me that he band have gone for a slightly more direct approach with this album.

So, what’s on offer here? Well, it’s essentially eleven tracks of perfectly serviceable Melodic Rock, which includes all the usual tropes that are now fully expected from the genre. On the surface the choruses are catchy, the playing is tight and concise and the production suitably big and grand...and it’s here that the `but` comes in.

It all comes across as ever so slightly as if it’s Melodic Rock `by numbers`. `Into The Fire` is a decent enough opener without stretching the listener, and `Higher` is a pleasant enough number with the obligatory `Woah`s` to give it that 80`s Bon Jovi feel to it.

Tracks such as 'Turn Back` and `Radio` both fall into category of Radio friendly rock tunes, with the former being the better of the two with a nice line in dynamics which makes it one of the albums high spots, the other album highlight being the gritty `We Will Win`, but I was just left a little cold by the rest of the material on the album. Look, I’m in no doubt that I’m probably in the minority over my views on this album, as devotees of Scandinavian Melodic Rock with take to this like a duck to water.

Track Listing
1. Into The Fire
2.Higher
3.Feed The Lie
4.Radio
5.Are You Ready
6.Burning
7.Falling Down
8.Lost In Paradise
9.Turn Back
10.We Will Win
11.Desire

Added: March 29th 2022
Reviewer: Malcolm Smith
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 600
Language: english

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