LAST AUTUMN’S DREAM – Hunting Shadows

The Swedish/German Melodic Rock band Last Autumn’s Dream was formed way back in 2003 by three members of the Swedish sensational super group Europe: John Leven, Ian Haughland, and Michael Michaeli. They found a singer in Michael Erlandsson and a great guitar player in the former Fair Warning guitarist Andy Malecek. The debut album was released with this line-up. At this time, Europe reunited, which kept the three Europe members of the group occupied. For the second release of Last Autumn’s Dream, Michael and Andy had to find replacements. They found a great bassist in Marcel Jacob (Talisman) and an exceptional drummer in Jamie Borger (ex Treat). This line-up have released five albums since then. Now they have a completely new record out on the market entitled Hunting Shadows.

Hunting Shadows goes in the same style as the previous records: strong, catchy Melodic Rock. There are some great tunes, but there’s nothing new in their sound, apart from a sitar that appears in the intro of a song. Sure the opener “Strange Operation” has a quite catchy theme, but it does also sound emaciated in a way, especially in the beginning. The vocals sound horrible during the first verse, like the singer has walked a thousand miles and is about to pass away. Coming into the cliché-filled chorus, things gets loosened up and the singing starts to work out. The guitarist does a very fine job as well, not only on this song, but the entire album. The last minute of the song is actually the best piece of music on this record; a fine melody that just let you drift away.

Following-up is a tune named “Rainbow Sky,” which is also a very catchy tune. This one may be the best song on the album. It has a classic Melodic Rock sound, a catchy refrain, simple lyrics, and will be a crowd pleaser indeed.

The fourth song on this record is a ballad entitled “I’m Not Supposed To Love You Anymore.” It’s a fantastic tune and could easily remind you a little of the legendary band Journey. Guitarist Andy Malecek plays a fine guitar solo too. This man has not lost the grip of the strings since he was with the German Melodic Rockers Fair Warning in their glory days. In fact, he sounds better than ever and his playing is definitely one of the highlights of this record. It wouldn’t have been the same without his incredible guitar abilities.

There are many other great songs that appear on Hunting Shadows as well as those mentioned. “R U Ready To Rock N’ Roll” is a classic rocker with a great “shuffle” groove. Could remind you a little of the song “Crazy” from Fair Warning’s debut record. “Serenity” is another great Melodic Rock tune as well, featuring an easy sing-able chorus. “War Of The Worlds” goes in the footsteps of the previous song, but starts out a little more mysterious with a keyboard melody. “Every Beat Of My Heart” is a terrific song opening with sitar, quite surprisingly. It maintains the fantastic, energy-filled melodies the album has had so far towards the end. The song that ends the show is “Overnight Sensation,” also a typical Melodic Rocker. Actually, the worst part of the album appears in the end of this song with a unnecessary vocal harmony part. It’s not a worthy way to end an album!

Hunting Shadows is so far the greatest release from Last Autumn’s Dream. Sure, it would have been ten times better with better production. There is no punch in their sound and that is mainly because of the drums that have no “explosive” to them. Apart from the production this is a great album with terrific songs!