After a first album noticed by the editors of Music Waves ("Out of Darkness"), Rian does it again four years later with "Twenty Three". In the meantime, the Swedish trio has become a quartet, which gives a new dynamic: while keeping a strong easy listening character, carried by striking melodies, Rian has decided to put the guitars in turbo mode and delivers an avalanche of hits, melodious bombs with an American sound that boosts the whole in a thunderous way.
The person responsible for this evolution is the new guitarist of the band, Tobias Jakobsson, until now known for his participation in death metal bands such as Netherbird and Riket. Let the hard fans reassure themselves, Jakobsson respects the style proposed here. However, these years spent within more muscular formations have left traces, and the band reaps the fruits of its previous experiences. Their melodic hard rock delivers hard-hitting riffs that hold the listener's attention with the quality of their guitars.
All the tracks are polished like pieces of goldsmithery, evoking Dream Theater ('Stop'), One Desire ('23', 'In The Dark'), Europe ('For Your Heart'), Alter Bridge ('My Ocean'), Survivor and W.E.T. ('The Passenger')... And Rian kept the best for the end with 'Stranger To Me' whose exceptional final of strength and melodicness surprises, cutting on the classical frame of the piece, then 'Your Beauty', pearl of AOR which will be found on most playlists of the amateurs of the genre.
What a confirmation that this second opus of Rian! "Twenty-Three" is a poignant, seductive, striking and endearing album, which should melt the fans of the genre and could even convince those who are traditionally not very fond of it.