DECOY – Call Of The Wild

Call Of The Wild is the debut album by a great new Swedish Melodic Rock outfit, Decoy. Initiated as a collaboration between songwriter and guitarist Torben Enevoldsen (Section A, Fatal Force) and vocalist Peter Sundell (Grand Illusion), after Peter felt the urge for a change and left Grand Illusion in May 2005 to team up with Torben for this new and exciting project. Torben commenced with the compositions for this album in December 2005, which are best described as fitting the Melodic Rock genre with a slight touch of Progressive Hard Rock.

Immediately with the opening track “Divided,” the listener gets the full feel for this highly melodic album. It strikes quickly with its clean and very professional production and overall sound. While there is not the slightest doubt concerning the great guitar skills of Mr. Enevoldsen, as commonly known from his works with Fatal Force, Call Of The Wild cannot and should not be compared to them, nor to Grand Illusion. The album is much more controlled and relaxed and does not come across as a display of individual talents. However, since Peter was especially looking for a change compared to what he has been involved with for about 20 years prior to Decoy, this release is a very nice break from exactly that and should be respected.

Additionally, Call Of The Wild really sounds very lively and fresh and also serves up a few heavier songs such as “Heavy Metal Thunder,” or the rocking up-tempo number “My Religion,” which also features some pretty amazing guitar work by Peter. The balladish “Forever And Ever” has a nice feel and convinces with some excellent guitar fills and solos. One of the highlights on Call Of The Wild is the slightly Progressive track “How Long,” which shows off some really great guitar licks.

To summarize Call Of The Wild best would be to mention the variety of styles on the album. Not so much the variety of overall individual genres, but the cleverly arranged sections in many songs. There are a lot of interchanges of mellower and heavier sections, occasionally bundled by atmospheric and meaningful emotions, which often again change or lead to more aggressive musical statements and vocal expressions. This is quite a pleasing experience, which keeps the album interesting all the time and can therefore be considered an impressive debut effort.

Lineup

Peter Sundell – Vocals
Torben Enevoldsen – Guitars, Bass
Thomas Heintzelmann – Drums