M.ILL.ION

M.ill.ion are from Sweden and their current line up consists of vocalist Ulrich Carlsson, guitarist Andreas Grovle, Australian keyboardist Angelo Modafferi, bassist B J Laneby and Per Westergren on drums. The band formed in 1989 and ‘Sane and Insanity’ is their seventh album. They have toured extensively and supported such acts as MSG, Magnum, Nazareth and Saxon. The album commences with a brief but atmospheric instrumental intro before leading into the first track proper, ‘Cry to Heaven’. This is a good track, heavy but full of melody. The next song, ‘Everyday Hero’ is another strong track with the keyboards, in the style of Tony Carey of the ‘Rising’ era Rainbow, particularly effective. ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ follows and is another song that has plenty of power but also has melody in abundance. Next up is ‘I Raise My Glass’ which has a chorus that soon lodges in your brain. The title track follows and is epic. The song is structured around a massive guitar riff that is tempered by a similar keyboard riff. The production gives a really ‘big’ sound and the energy in this cut is incredible. The next couple of songs follow in the up tempo rocker vein before ‘Fuel To My Heart’ slows the pace a little. This is the closest thing on this release to a ballad but nothing is lost in terms of heaviness. The remaining tracks raise the tempo once more with ‘Drama Queens’ featuring some excellent interplay between keyboards and guitar. Overall, this is a first class release. Each song is well produced and the performances from each band member are excellent. There is plenty of melody but this doesn’t detract from the overall ‘heavy’ feel of the album. If M.ill.ion are in the UK in the future, either as headliners or support, I for one wouldn’t hesitate to go and see them. Cracking stuff!

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Metal Heaven

Album

SANE & INSANITY

Review by Dave Uphill

RUNNING TIME:

52:02

RELEASE DATE:

28th March 2011

TRACK LISTING

1) Sea of Fate; 2) Cry To Heaven
3) Everyday Hero; 4) Tomorrow Never Dies
5) I Raise My Glass
6) Sane And Insanity
7) Hell's Gate
8) Under Your Wings
9) Fuel To My Heart
10) Drama Queens
11) Test of Time
12) Hate
13) Seize The Day

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Sweden

"...plenty of melody but this doesn’t detract from the overall ‘heavy’ feel of the album."