Rating: RRRRr
Review by Kimmo Toivonen
The all-star band Crowne have established themselves as something more than just a one-off project put together by the record label. ”Wonderland” is their third album, which is quite an accomplishment, considering that the members are pretty busy with their other projects too. Especially main writer and keyboard player Jona Tee (H.E.A.T. &. producing) and vocalist Alexander Strandell (Art Nation, Nitrate, Lionville) have pretty hectic schedules I assume. The other guys (John Leven of Europe, Love Magnusson of Dynazty and Kicken Lundqvist) aren’t exactly resting on their laurels either.
The album gets a flying start with the irresistible title track and ”Waiting For You”, two songs that went straight to my ”Highlights of 2025” playlist. These could be described as ”Power AOR”, somewhere between Power Metal and AOR. An extra mention must go to Strandell and his soaring vocals, his performance on these tracks and the whole album is something quite exceptional!
”Eye Of The Oracle” is a bit moodier, but an excellent track too, as is ”Heaven Tonight”, which continues the Power AOR theme, like Battle Beast mixed with H.E.A.T. After hearing these four first tracks, I was thinking that we might have an album worth of the full set of R’s here!
It seems that the band used their biggest bombs right away, as the rest of the album can’t really match the brilliance of the first four tracks. Don’t get me wrong, none of the remaining tracks are bad, they could have been a foundation of killer album, but now we’ll have to settle for a very good one. But let’s take a closer look at them.
”Warlords Of The North” has been co-written by Saxon vocalist Biff Byford, and it’s heavy track, a slow-tempo stomper with a bit Sabbathesque vibe. ”Timing Is Right” gives me a strange sense of deja vu, as its’ chorus sounds somewhat like a faster version of ”Heaven Tonight”.
”Goodbye” is a decent ballad that reminds of Europe. ”Love Thy Enemy” was initially one of the weaker tracks but I’ve grown to like it. It’s another moody track and features some nice piano parts by Jona Tee. ”Legacy” might be the closest thing to filler here, an okay track but it doesn’t really leave a lasting trace. ”Hearts Collide” is the only track solely written by Alexander Strandell, and it’s the highlight of the album’s second half. The closing number ”The Fall” has its’s moments, a quite clever chorus but I haven’t really warmed up to it.
The band’s sound is a rather fascinating combination of the elements brought in by the members. It’s not exactly like H.E.A.T. or Art Nation or something in between. There’s a metallic overtone in it, yet some of the hooks could work as pop songs, if produced differently. I threw in the ”Power AOR” term earlier, which I think is somehow accurate. Go ahead and listen yourself.
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