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> Okay... You know I like English and Japanese metal. Another region
that seems to have produced some decent groups is northern Europe.
Think Yngwie Malmsteen.
Well, I first heard this band before anyone had really come to know them
(in a popular sense). I used to listen to this crackly college FM
station, which had a metal show every Saturday morning in the mid eighties.
They played this one song that really struck me -- I even taped it off
the radio! The title, "Treated Bad Again". The group, "Europe"!?!?!
I was like, who the hell are they? I didn't care though, because
this one song drove me to seek their albums. And found them I did...
> To my knowledge, "Wings of Tomorrow" is their second album, and the last
before they struck it big with "The Final Countdown". They may not
have made too much money on this album, since its distribution and promotion
was weak, but it's surely their best effort!! It's too bad they went
"pop" from here on, and quickly faded into the sunset thereafter...
> I dare any metal fan to listen to "Treated Bad Again", this album's best
song, and not be instantly converted into a John Norum fan! This
is important because Norum broke off after this album and continued his
metal ways with solo albums (which I'll be reviewing in the future).
Back to the aforementioned song. Norum takes every opportunity to
just freely jam his guitar, and display his obvious talent. Actually,
this is another album that can easily be listened to from start to finish.
You get it all -- jams, ballads, and popular beats. Throw in a great
voice, courtesy of Joey Tempest, and the laid back keyboards to produce
a winner. |
