Album Review: The Night Flight Orchestra - Aeromantic
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
Channelling their desire for classic melodic rock from the 1970/80s, ‘Aeromantic’ is the latest release from the Night Flight Orchestra, the Swedish outfit formed in 2007 by Soilwork’s Björn Strid and David Anderson and completed by Sharlee D’Angelo (Arch Enemy), Richard Larsson, Jonas Källsbäck, Sebastian Forslund and the duo of Anna-Mia Bonda and Anna Brygård on backing vocals. Their fifth album is as sweet as sherbet lemon dipped in a vat of honey. Smooth melodies and soaring harmonies, thick synthesisers and a sound that swings from Eurovision trash rock to pop rock, it might be stretching the imagination to state that there is something for everyone here.
Opening track ‘Servants of the Air’ begins with pace, the tense industrial build up quickly giving way to an emphatically victorious song, D’Angelo’s thunderous bass lines drive forward combining with Källsbäck‘s solid drumming. Guitars are light throughout this release but there are enough riffs in this six-minute opener, merging with swathes of keyboards which increasing the tempo whilst the backing vocals of Bonda and Brygård add depth to the chorus. Two songs later and the heaviness has deteriorated, replaced by an 80s pop feel. If you are a massive fan of the AOR which dominated the radios of the USA 40 years ago, all lightweight and saccharine then this will really excite you.
Highly polished with massive production, and performances that soar with quality, it has a pomp that is rarely heard (certainly not in my house that’s for certain!). Strid’s vocals are impressive, the guitars when they break through are cutting and the keyboards mellow. But if you don’t particularly enjoy the cheesy disco rock fusion that is on offer here, then like me you’ll find it something of a challenge. ‘If Tonight is Our Only Chance’ might be one of the ghastliest songs I’ve ever heard, a track that belongs on the soundtrack to ‘Rocky III.’ The Foreigner beat of ‘This Boy’s Last Summer’ is anthemic, in the way that the stadium rock which spawned a million mullets was. ‘City Lights and Moonbeams’, the closing track summarises everything in this album in one track. It’s either horrific or amazing. There is no in-between.
One can’t help but wonder about the reception the band will get at Bloodstock this year when they headline Thursday night’s opening party. Of course, most metal fans can’t resist a bit of the melodic stuff; who doesn’t love a bit of Thunder or can resist a singalong to ‘Don’t Stop Believin’? So, if you enjoy that that this should be quite a sight as Bathory clad leather beasts clutch their breasts and join in with ‘Curves’, or the Michael Bolton feel of ‘Golden Swansdown’ then make sure you head to the Sophie Tent for opening night. I think I might be in the bar. Or on the barrier screaming like a 14-year-old once again. Hmm. We shall see.
Aeromantic is released on Nuclear Blast on 28th February
