Yeah, but what country are they from?
Artiste: Frozen Rain
Nationality: I don't know for sure but I think they may be Belgian. Despite sounding German (band member names) almost all their official websites have a "be" suffix, so I'm assuming they're from Belgium.
Album: Ahead of time
Year: 2012
Label: Avenue of Allies
Genre: AOR
Tracks:
Believe it or not
Forever
Breakin' out
We're gonna rock
Too late
Turn it on
Ahead of time
The last dance ain't over
Not at home
The way that you
Voodoo party
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Good eighties-sounding AOR. Um...
Best track(s): Breakin' out, Forever, Too late, The last dance ain't over, Not at home, The way that you
Worst track(s): We're gonna rock (Only for the overly cheesy lyrics)
Comments: I know absolutely nothing about this band, and was only attracted to them by the poetic sounding name. I've since found out that they're Belgian (maybe) and seem to be following in the footsteps of some other bands they admire, including Drive She Said, Boulevard, Fair Warning and Heartland, none of whom I know anything about. Hmm. Good start though and it's punchy, catchy AOR from the off, with some mesmerising keys work and stomping guitar: I'm already interested!
Breakin' out has a definite Bon Jovi feel, circa their debut 1984 album, shades of a slower
Runaway in places, very catchy. Mind you, whether it's a good or bad thing that an album should recall the sound of one nearly thirty years its senior is a call I'll leave to you. Great keyboard work and some scorching solos, and though most of the members are mentioned as being supposedly big names in the AOR world I'm afraid I don't know any of them. Despite its corny title,
We're gonna rock has more than a touch of electronica in it, while
The last dance ain't over is pure rockin' fun.
Frozen Rain will never be accused of deep lyric writing with lines like "Come on baby/Come on girl/ We're gonna rock/ Around the world" but the songs have a fine sense of honest and simple fun about them, and they certainly get the feet moving if not the heads banging. I'd say you'd have a great time if you went to one of their gigs. They don't seem to be held back by trying to be one thing or another, or attempting to be too clever or deep. They're just here to enjoy themselves, and so they do. Of course, being an AOR (or Melodic Rock, take your pick, they mean the same thing as far as I can see) band, they have to have ballads on their albums, and
Too late again sounds very Bon Jovi to me with maybe a touch of Foreigner, with the singer making a good attempt at an impression of Rod Stewart. Good stuff. The squealing guitars are probably a little overdone, but I'm not going to worry about that.
Nice atmospheric introduction to the title track, some lovely guitar work, a little laid back really, then it more or less rocks its socks off to the end, despite the decidely odd closer with its mechanical vocoder introduction. Still, screaming guitars soon blast that away and we end as we began, poundin' and rockin' hard, though Frozen Rain have one more surprise up their sleeve, as the closer is a powerful instrumental, not something seen too often on an AOR record. But then, it would appear clear by now that this is not just another AOR band.
Overall impression: Good, enjoyable AOR. I wouldn't rush out to buy their other album, but I'd certainly get it at some point, and would listen to this a few more times for sure. An interesting blend of generic AOR with some different and unexpected elements.
Intention: Add to the list of AOR bands I never knew existed but now quite like. Score one for Belgium! If they are Belgian...