Dangerdog Music Reviews :: © 1999 - 2025 Craig S Hartranft :: All Rights Reserved
No part of this this website, including design and music reviews,
may be reproduced in any form or by any means without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
- New Music Reviews
- |
- Archives
- |
- News
- |
- Submissions
- |
- About
- |
- |
New Music Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, AOR, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal
Recent Reviews
January 2025
- The Big Deal: Electrified
- Landfall: Wide Open Sky
December 2024
- After Lapse: Pathways
- Illusion Force: Halfana
- Powell-Payne: Voilá
November 2024
- Sunstorm: Restless Fight
- Storace: Crossfire
- Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
- Lionville: Supernatural
- Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
- Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
- Lonerider: Down In The Dust
- Seventh Crystal: Entity
- Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
- Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
- Impellitteri: War Machine
- Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter
October 2024
- Casandra's Crossing: Garden Of Earthly Delights
- DGM: Endless
- Daytona: Garder la Flamme
- Fate: Reconnect 'N Ignite
- Frost*: Life In The Wires
- Aries Descendant: From The Ashes Of Deceit
- Fans Of The Dark: Video
- Radioactive: Reset
- House Of Lords: Full Tilt Overdrive
- Cleanbreak: We Are The Fire
September 2024
- Sinner's Blood: Dark Horizons
- Serious Black: Rise Of Akhenaton
- Eclipse: Megalomanium II
- SteelCity: Reverence
- Hydra: ReHydrated
- Heartwind: III
- Gabrielle De Val and the Dragonlords: Tiger
- Find Me: Nightbound
- The Nail: The Nail
- Timeless Fairytale: A Story To Tell
- Stryper: When We Were Kings
- Phil Mogg: Moggs Motel
- Pure Reason Revolution: Coming Up To Consciousness
- Jordan Rudess: Permission To Fly
Sapphire Eyes: Sapphire Eyes
Sapphire Eyes: Sapphire Eyes
Melodic Rock/AOR
4.0/5.0
Website (Label)
Avenue of Allies Records
by Craig Hartranft, 11.29.2012
Sapphire Eyes is a new project from Alyson Avenue keyboard player Niclas Olsson and singer Thomas Bursell, with whom he worked with in Sweden's Second Heat. The self-titled debut fits squarely in the AOR melodic rock category, sounding much like Alyson Avenue but with male lead vocals.
Sapphire Eyes:: principals, Olsson and Bursell.
Olsson and Bursell are helped out by some other melodic rock heavyweights. On lead vocals, Bursell shares the mic with Mikael Erlandsson (Last Autumn's Dream, Salute) and Mike Andersson (Cloudscape). On backing vocals Sapphire Eyes has former Alyson Avenue singer Anette Olzon, now with Nightwish, and current singer Arabella Vitanc. The duo enlists several experienced players for some impressive guitar licks including Sven Larsson (Street Talk, Lionville) and Rik Priem (Frozen Rain).
This self-titled debut delivers the goods. The songs straddle the line of wistful AOR and more melodic hard rock with strong melodies and vocal harmonies, big hooks in lyrics and arrangements and groovy guitar solos. Sapphire Eyes may even be heavier than Olsson's Alyson Avenue, but most every song has that AOR arena anthem feel. The highlight could be the rock ballad Can't Find the Words, with Mikael Erlandsson at most raspy and passionate best. Neither surprising or novel, this debut is solid and entertaining material, and exactly what you would expect from Olsson and Bursell (except the crappy album art work). Recommended.
Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.
TweetIn Short
While neither surprising or novel, Sapphire Eyes's debut is solid and entertaining material, and exactly what you would expect from Niclas Olsson and Thomas Bursell. Recommended.
Find A Review
Alphabetical Index
New & Notable
The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]