This one was a bit of a shock. I loved their previous cd. I commended it for it's dedication to a pure hard rock sound. When I heard that
Jaded Heart were going heavier on this one, I was excited. I love when melodic bands go for a heavier edge. Because I love heavy music and I've
always felt it's easier for a melodic band to make their sound heavier than to teach a heavier band to write catchy songs, so I'm all for good
bands going heavier. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work here as well as I had hoped. Instead of just making their sound heavier, they changed
their style. I know that might sound like a subtle distincction but it changed how they treated the vocal melodies. They opted for what is a very
structured, euro-metal, or in some cases, almost neo-classical direction. There are some more commercial moments (like Yngwie's album with Joe
Lynn Turner) but the music is just ... stiffer. And instead of doing more melodic vocals with that music, the melodies got stiffer too. To be
fair, they did a really good job in this new style. The band is clearly more technically proficient than I gave them credit for, and the cd sounds great, but I think I just preferred the other style. I don't think the songs are as good, but it might just be that they aren't what I was expecting. Time will tell if I can warm up to the new Jaded Heart, but if you like bands more like Iron Savior or Primal Fear, this might be the cd for you. --
Scott