ROYAL HUNT – The 11th studio album from Denmark’s ROYAL HUNT, Show Me How To Live, was released in North America on November 29th, 2011, via Frontiers Records. On Show Me How To Live, former lead singer D.C. Cooper reunited with this band’s founding member, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer: Andre’ Andersen. Along with Jonas Larsen (guitars), Andreas Passmark (bass) and Allan Sørensen on drums, ROYAL HUNT has justifiably reinstated their respected status as a player in the world of Melodic Hard Rock, with Show Me How To Live.
Progressively leaning, symphonic and very much melodic is Show Me How To Live. From the opening track of One More Day, I realized there would be many elements to listen for with this ROYAL HUNT band’s musicianship. In its simplistic comparison, listening to ROYAL HUNT is like listening to a Melodic Hard Rock orchestra. With a backing chorus to compliment the exquisite arrangements of One More Day, this song opens up Show Me How To Live with inspiring musical extravagance.
The melodic ride never subsides with ROYAL HUNT, as Another Man Down is highlighted by a memorable guitar solo from Jonas Larsen and the spot-on drumming of Allan Sørensen. As pivotal components to the music of ROYAL HUNT, orchestration is the vertebrae of this album while the keyboards are its nerve center. The muscle comes through with the guitar and rhythm section. The songs Hard Rain’s Coming and An Empty Shell in and of themselves are my picks for anyone to listen to, in explaining the aforementioned music components.
Throughout all 7 songs, the vocals of D.C. Cooper keeps me engaged in the music. D.C. has excellent range and doesn’t overreach, all the while giving this album a vocal identity that is muscular and downright enjoyable to hear. A true catalyst is D.C. to this band. Andre’ Andersen on keyboards is a thrill a minute. Andre’ impresses me most by not over-saturating this album with his love for the keys. Yes, these synthetic sounds are plentiful, only I don’t hear the over-indulgence that could have been.
I hear a respect for balance within the songs on Show Me How To Live. No instrument is ever buried under the layers. Andre’ and his band give off a vibe of mutual appreciation for the strength of the song and quality certainly overrides quantity on this new ROYAL HUNT album. Fans of Symphonic/Melodic Hard Rock and Metal should dive right into Show Me How To Live and bask in all of its deliciously layered splendor.
ROYAL HUNT:
Andre’ Andersen – keyboards
D.C. Cooper – vocals
Jonas Larsen – guitars
Andreas Passmark – bass
Allan Sørensen – drums
Show Me How To Live – Track Listing:
One More Day
Another Man Down
An Empty Shell
Hard Rain’s Coming
Half Past Loneliness
Show Me How To Live
Angel’s Gone
* For more info on ROYAL HUNT, click on the links below:
Stone.
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