STORMBURST – Highway To Heaven

Fans of Deep Purple and the Scorpions, rejoice! Here comes Stormburst to bring back that dinosaurian Hard Rock sound you know and love with their second full-length release, Highway To Heaven. Lordian keyboards from Peter Östling kickoff the album’s catchy, Purple-soaked title track and lead single. Formed in 2014, Stormburst sound like they have been playing together since the seventies, both in terms of the tightness of their playing and the style of their sound. The band was formed by journeymen Kent Jansson on bass and Thomas Hansson on guitar. Their pair had played together in an outfit called Steam, and their first recruit for the Stormburst project was singer Lars-Åke “Plåtis” Nilsson, who Jansson had played with in Keen Hue. Jansson had also played with Östling in Six Feet Under (not to be confused with the Tampa Bay Death Metal band of the same name); only newest recruit Pelle Hindén doesn’t have a former band connection with the bassist.

Stomburst prefer a more upbeat, good time-y brand of Metal on Highway To Heaven compared to much of the Metal currently in vogue. Nilsson’s vocals hearken to those of the Scorpion’s Klaus Meine, and the second and third tracks of the album, “Rock N’ Roll Soldier” and “Tonight” draw the parallel clearly with a double-tracked harmony vocal. “Tonight” even has one of those a cappella clap and singalong breaks that made the Scorpions so fun to see in concert.

“Going Home” is a similarly buoyant tune which choose to focus on the joy and anticipation of the journey and destination rather than the “nightmare situation” the narrator mentions in the lyrics. Next is “Closer To Heaven”, a neo-ballad continuing the themes of positive journeying and one that is elevated by a lovely guitar solo. “Miles Away” is another ballad lyrically almost a response song–like the guy who was closer to heaven (walking along the highway to heaven, of course) looked over his shoulder and realized he was miles away from his lover.

“Who Do You Think You Are” is a lurching rocker goes back to Deep Purple/Uriah Heep territory; “Confidence” blends a Purple riff with a Scorpions chorus. The album wraps with the suitably anthemic “One Dream”.

Stormburst is a band who understands their influences well. They don’t stray too far from already well-traveled highways, more trusted guides than trailblazers, so if you are looking to get to favorite vacation spot along the same roads but in a new car, Highway To Heaven is the vehicle for you.