FATE
Reviewed by Edwin Van Hoof
The scene was booming and high quality melodic rock acts sprouted by the dozen. Scandinavia was releasing some of the most highly acclaimed gems in melodic rock in the
80s, including Fate's self-titled debut and the magnificent “Matter of
Attitude.”
That was then, this is now! “V” is described as the return of a giant! Well,
it's all here. The sound of their later (and louder) "Scratch ‘n
Sniff" era; loud guitars with hard riffing, screaming solos, powerful bass and drums, and the choirs and
their recognizable melodies. The guitar solos are furious all over this CD and the riffs are
nothing short of raging. There may be fewer keyboards here than in the debuting years, but they’re
still here (“Heaven’s Crying Too”).
Tommy Hansen's production is crisp and kicking all over and really uplifts the CD. There's even the occasional stealing of a lick! “Everything About You” is a shameless rip-off of Santa Esmeralda’s classic “Misunderstood."
Fate indeed offers all there is for fans of melodic rock and hair
metal ... but they also have one of the most irritating vocalists on the scene.
Per Johansson screams and screeches his balls right out of his too tight pants, more than one can bear!
Two or three songs I can survive, but certainly no more than that! Nerve wrecking!
MTM has signed Fate for three releases, but hopefully someone in the band will
realize they need to relieve themselves of the singular disturbance of good music on this disc. The music is vivid, yet is
nearly completely destroyed by Mr. Johanssen’s screaming and terrorizing voice.
Fate: Per Johansson - vocals; Peter Steincke - bass; Søren Hoff - guitars; Micke Kvist - drums.
For more information, check out http://www.mtm-music.com.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2006 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights
reserved.
Revised: 26 Feb 2024 13:06:29 -0500.
