NITRATE: Feel The Heat (MELODIC HARD ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

British melodic hard rock band Nitrate presents his fourth effort this late autumn. "Feel The Heat" comes two years after "Renegade", which appealed to fans of 80s sounds. The combo includes in its ranks some talents well known to followers of Frontiers label productions. Indeed, the man at the microphone is none other than Alexander Strandell, frontman of Crowne and Art Nation. He is backed up by the Martin twins, who once played guitar and keyboards with Vega. Nitrate evolves in a register that could be classified as dynamic AOR, largely influenced by such old-time greats as Bon Jovi, Loverboy, Night Ranger or Bad English.

"Feel The Heat" is an album with a summery flavour, instilling a soothing sense of well-being. Its nostalgic aura harkens back to serene times and acts as a balm on our contemporary emotional pain. It's so good to be transported back to a time when (almost) pop synths shone shamelessly and lush backing vocals enhanced the excitement of melodies to be chanted over and over again. The arrival of Strandell on the previous opus propelled the band to the next level, and the combo has gone from strength to strength ever since. Nitrate has now, after some trial and error, finally found its voice, but also its path. It will be that of the FM of yesteryear.

Listening to this album, you'd think you'd stumbled across the soundtrack to a Richard Donner action movie ("Lethal weapon") or a John Hughes teen romance ("The Breakfast Club"). The riff on the eponymous track takes us back in time to Sammy Hagar's hit 'The Winner Takes It All' and Bon Jovi's 'Needs A Little Love', when the radios played 'She Don't Know Me'. As for 'All The Right Moves', it summons Night Ranger and invokes the spirit of stadium rock. The more muscular 'Haven't Got Time For Heartache' is reminiscent of H.E.A.T., and the verses/solo of Def Leppard's 'Satellite' of the time of 'Hysteria'.

With "Feel the Heat" - itself a very 80s title - Nitrate offers us a ride in a DeLorean on a sepia-toned highway. Some may find this blatant mimicry of sounds embarrassing and repudiate the stylistic exuberance so marked. But there's no doubt that fans of the genre will find this album close to delightfully satisfying. - Official website

NITRATE

FEEL THE HEAT

FRONTIERS RECORDS

MELODIC HARD ROCK