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"Perfect Plan hardly raises its game with “Heart Of A Lion”, which is more AOR than its predecessor, and contains a number of compositions that deserve only an average rating."
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3/5
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After two particularly encouraging first releases, Sweden's Perfect Plan disappointed with “Brace For Impact”, their 2022 production. Limited inspiration, embarrassing frontman mannerisms and creative redundancies spoiled the party envisaged for this album of hoped-for confirmation. The Scandinavians are now hitting the shelves with their latest offering, Heart Of A Lion, and a question surreptitiously springs to mind... Does this band have a future, or will it ultimately remain known only for having launched the career of its singer Ken Hilli, since then Giant's heir to the microphone?
Compared to the first two albums, “Brace For Impact” had hardened the debate. The new opus returns to their original love affair: the AOR of the 1980s. The eleven tracks on offer could form the soundtrack to an American action movie, such as “Top Gun” or “Rocky” (the video for the highly successful eponymous track also reveals some boxing footage). It deserves to be called a hit, as do 'We Are Heroes', whose verses are reminiscent of Pretty Maids' 'Little Drops Of Heaven', and 'At Your Stone', which closes the album in Foreigner hard rock mode. All three reflect the most muscular part of the album.
The shadow of Survivor hovers over some of the scores, and Hilli's voice, which sometimes takes on the intonations of Jimi Jamison's, is obviously no stranger to this. We're also reminded of King Kobra on the stand-out 'Too Tough', Pride Of Lions on the mawkish 'Turn Up Your Radio' and Foreigner on the unremarkable 'Lady Mysterious'. In the end, almost half a dozen tracks leave an insipid taste in the mouth and hardly make you want to press the play button again. This is due to a stubborn lack of inspiration, which only manages to elevate these tracks to the level of acceptable background music.
Perfect Plan has not raised its game, serving up too many of the same melodies in an old-fashioned AOR atmosphere. A quarter of hits, another quarter of good songs and half an opus of mawkishness - that, in a nutshell, is the content of “Heart Of A Lion”, which will not go down in history. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
 01. Heart Of A Lion
02. Too Tough
03. We Are Heroes
04. All Night
05. Ready To Break
06. My Unsung Hero
07. Turn Up Your Radio
08. Lady Mysterious
09. One Touch
10. Danger On The Loose
11. At Your Stone
LINEUP:
Fredrik Forsberg: Batterie
Kent Hilli: Chant
Leif Ehlin: Claviers
Mats Byström: Basse
Rolf Nordström: Guitares
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(0) MIND(S) FROM OUR READERS
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Top of the page
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(1) COMMENT(S)
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READERS
2.3/5 (3 view(s))
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STAFF:
3/5 (1 view(s))
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IN RELATION WITH PERFECT PLAN
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OTHER REVIEWS
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OTHER(S) REVIEWS ABOUT PERFECT PLAN
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