ASTRAL DOORS

Astral Doors were formed in Sweden back in 2002. The band consist of Nils Patrick Johansson on vocals, guitarist Joachim Nordlund, Joakim Roberg on keys and the rhythm section of bassist Ulf Lagerstroem and drummer Johan Lindstedt. As you would expect from a band who’ve been together for virtually ten years, they have toured extensively and supported the likes of Doro, Grave Digger and Blind Guardian. All of the songs on this release, with the exception of ‘Lost Crucifix’, ‘The Battle of Jacob’s Ford’ and the title track, which are slightly slower paced, are all powerful, up tempo rockers with pounding drums, clear and fluid guitars and Dio-esque vocals. The highlight is probably ‘Child of Rock ‘N’ Roll’ (Rock and Roll Children anyone?) which not only sounds like a good stab at a Rainbow/Dio cover but is crawling with similar lyrical imagery. The slower-paced tracks are probably slightly stronger in my opinion as there is more variation or ‘light and shade’ contained within. In terms of lyrical content, there is a strong military history theme in several of the tracks, ranging from The Crusades (‘Seventh Crusade’ and ‘The Battle of Jacob’s Ford’), to the Second World War (‘Pearl Harbour’) to the conflict in modern day Iraq. In summary, this is a competent and solid release which is well produced and features strong performances from all band members. Its only flaw is that there is not quite enough here to lift it above the mass of releases within this genre of rock. As such, although it will no doubt appeal to die-hard fans, the band will have their work cut out to gain wider recognition.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Metalville

Album

JERUSALEM

Review by Dave Uphill

RUNNING TIME:

49:30

RELEASE DATE:

12th Dec 2011

TRACK LISTING

1) Seventh Crusade
2) With a Stranger's Eye
3) Child of Rock 'n' Roll
4) Pearl Harbor
5) Lost Crucifix
6) Babylon Rise
7) Suicide Rime
8) The Battle of Jacob's Ford
9) Operation Freedom
10) The Day After Yesterday
11) Jerusalem

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Sweden

"...powerful, up tempo rockers with pounding drums, clear and fluid guitars and Dio-esque vocals."