Label: Funklord Dynasty/MusicBuyMail 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen
Nubian Rose has been making some waves in the melodic hard rock genre recently, and now that they've hooked up with MusicBuyMail to distribute their album, they're hoping to make a bigger splash. The size of a "Mountain" perhaps? :)
The band's not-that-secret weapon is their vocalist Sofia Lilja. She looks and sounds like a star, and I wouldn't be surprised if she became one sooner or later. In fact, some of these songs might help her to achieve stardom sooner rather than later.
Nubian Rose have an interesting sound. They're mixing classic hard rock to more AOR-type of elements, which means that their music kicks like a mule yet they've got some fine melodies too. The opening track "Ever See Your Face" is a perfect example of that - kicking off with rockin' riff, straight-forward beat and some cool keys, then moving on to a superb chorus. The album's title track has a bit of a NWOBHM-vibe and some curious lyrics, like "Spoon is for eating but remember to drink"... Okay... Did I hear it right?
"Living For Tomorrow" features ex-Europe Kee Marcello on guitar, and purposely or not, the galloping rhythm reminds me a bit of a certain very well-known song by Europe. Next up we have "How Am I", which is one of the songs that might just take this band to the next level. It's a very classy ballad with a fine vocal from Sofia and some really tasteful backing from the rest of the band.
"Get Ready" borrows shamelessly from Scorpions' "Rock You Like A Hurricane", yet the chorus is a bit average. "Your Love" is another highlight, a cool, straight-forward rocker with a good chorus. "Once Bitten" doesn't impress me at all, it's just standard pub rock everyone's heard a million times. A bit of a filler... "Reckless" is the band's first video track, and while I think there are a few more potential hits on the album, it's not too bad at all. The Ozzy/Lita Ford-cover "Close My Eyes Forever" is quite nice. It features Mats Leven singing Ozzy's part, and a fine job he does too. Strangely enough, Sofia sounds a bit like Jennifer Rush on this track... This would have been a fine closing number, but unfortunately it isn't, there's still room for another throwaway track. "Sisters" isn't one of the band's finest numbers, and I could've done without it.
A very promising first effort, which clearly shows that Nubian Rose is onto something good. Apart from a couple of weaker standard rockers the album is enjoyable, and the finest moments are actually quite special.
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