Dangerdog Music Reviews :: © 1999 - 2024 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
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
August 2024
- Siege Perilous: Creation's Call EP
- Paralydium: Universe Calls
- Mike Tramp: Songs Of White Lion Vol. II
- Bite The Bullet: Looking For Paradise
- All For Metal: Gods Of Metal (Year Of The Dragon)
- Hammerfall: Avenge The Fallen
- Jim Peterik & World Stage: Roots & Shoots Vol. 2
Stratosphere: Fire Flight
Stratosphere: Fire Flight
AOR/Melodic Rock
3.5/5.0
Escape Music
www.escape-music.com
By Craig Hartranft, 10.11.2010
From Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, there seems to be no limit to the number of melodic rock and metal bands arising. Stratosphere, the brainchild of keyboard player Jepp Lund, arises from the former. Of Lund, I know little even after scouring the ubiquitous Internet, and Escape provides little information of his background. The same could be said for the rest of the quintet, with exception of powerful vocalist Goran Edman (Kharma, Vindictiv, Yngwie Malmsteen). However, Stratosphere's sound is unmistakable: Fire Flight is soaring, arena-ready, AOR melodic in the very best tradition.
With this genre familiarity a listener knows what to expect: generous melodies with catchy hooks, clear soaring lead vocals bolstered by ambitious vocal harmonies, sizzling guitar solos, and rich keyboard layers for accent or atmosphere. It's all here, and largely adequate and predictable, but in a very good way. As to the keyboard participation, though Stratosphere is his baby, Lund seems to take a backseat to the others on most songs.
To the songs, the best are the ones that are expansive arena rock feel like The Battle Within or China Girl. Yet, a song like Enemy of My Soul offers more than a typical ballad with a heavier feel under the soaring development. Some tunes are rather predictable pieces of pop-like AOR such as Street of Moscow. Then Russian Summer and Shining Star are suspiciously vapid and unconvincingly, when they really shouldn't be.
Fire Flight also has two instrumentals, the title track and Rendezvous. On both you hear more of Lund's expertise. And both are probably the best songs on the album. Simply, and with no slight to Edman, the compositions are grand and the musicians seem to play with energetic abandon. Actually, Rendezvous kicks the collective ass of all the rest of the songs on Fire Flight.
Fire Flight is a strong AOR melodic rock debut for Jepp Lund's Stratosphere. Even with some predictability inherent in the genre, many songs truly soar and the musicianship is first class. 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.
In Short
Fire Flight is a strong AOR melodic rock debut for Jepp Lund's Stratosphere. Even with some predictability inherent in the genre, many songs truly soar and the musicianship is first class.
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 ]