If I told you that in spite of their atrocious band name that members of Swedish Erotica (and yes, they are Swedish) played with numerous metal legends as Malmsteen, TNT, King Diamond, Vinnie Vincent then you'd be thinking that maybe this is one of those really cool, majorly talented acts let down by its moniker, and to some degree you'd be correct. Swedish Erotica are a peculiar bunch - very much archetype melodic metal with punchy, sassy choruses and a few cheeky licks thrown in for good measure - think of a rather harmless blend of Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and slightly harder pomp hair metal and you'd be on the right track. It's almost Steel Panther without the overtly tacky lyrics but in its predictability there is a distinctive charm where the likes of 'Love Me or Leave Me' become honey-drenched chuggers showcasing the decent vocal strains and almost run-of-the-mill hair metal joys and chants. In the end this album grows on you like a cheesy fungus, because it's often bombastic, always anthemic and just so generic but how could the '80s survive without a foundation of songs such as 'Downtown' with its formulaic lyrics and middle of the road riffage. But it's good, fuzzy late '80s metal that kept the band in good stead in spite of several line up changes and a career into the '90s and beyond - even if actual output has been somewhat sporadic. For good ol' fashioned party metal, look no further...
7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment