The Order – 1986 Review

THE ORDER aren’t necessarily directly influenced by any particular bands of the era, but 1986 is a great album title because as far as rock and metal goes...

Released By : Massacre Records

Genre : Melodic Rock

Link : http://www.theorder.ch/

 

Lineup:

Gianni Pontillo – Vocals

Bruno Spring – Guitar

Andrej Abplanalp – Bass

Mauro Casciero – Drums

 

Tracklist:

01. The Power Of Love

02. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll

03. Generation White Line

04. Lonely Nights

05. Fire It Up

06. A Kiss Under The Rain

07. Damn Hot Chick

08. Heartbreaking Rebel Blood

09. Why Dreaming Hollywood

10. Stop Lying In The Name Of Love

 

In case the bright-coloured, airbrushed artwork and the album title didn’t give it away already, 1986 is an album steeped in the hard rock/heavy metal traditions of the mid-eighties. Before we get too far into the review then, let us have a quick look at a small handful of albums from 1986 that could have been an influence here. BON JOVI released SLIPPERY WHEN WET, GIUFFRIA released SILK AND STEEL, VAN HALEN released 5150, SAXON released ROCK THE NATIONS, W.A.S.P released INSIDE THE ELECTRIC CIRCUS, RATT released DANCING UNDERCOVER, DAVID LEE ROTH released EAT ‘EM AND SMILE, TESLA released MECHANICAL RESONANCE, plus there was oh, so many more. There were also now-famous soundtracks for movies like COBRA, TOP GUN and IRON EAGLE.

THE ORDER aren’t necessarily directly influenced by any particular bands of the era, but 1986 is a great album title because as far as rock and metal goes it certainly was an epic year…one of the best actually. At times these guys remind me of TESLA, sometimes I hear a little bit of RATT, a touch of early BON JOVI and lots of KISS. But there’s also a slightly heavier edge to the band’s sound that helps it stay away from cheese territory a little bit. That being said though, if you are one of those folks who considers all current eighties revivalists as cheesy then these guys will certainly fall into the same category for you. For those that enjoy these types of releases, well you’re in luck because it’s very well done, the production is meaty, the songwriting is pure throwback material and the vocals are actually quite good, even perfect in certain places.

As far as a modern day reference point I would say that the closest comparison would be H.E.A.T mixed with a little bit of WIG WAM. But seeing that both of those bands are all about recreating a pure eighties sound that’s no big surprise. Opening track THE POWER OF LOVE sounds like a heavy metal version of KISS, especially in the chorus, heck one of lines in one of the verses is “I was made for lovin’ you, and you were made for lovin’ me.”.  LONG LIVE ROCK N ROLL yet again brings a KISS influence but this time is mixed with a more TESLA or RATT heavy melodic rock sound. GENERATION WHITE LINE has a bombastic AOR chorus that is mixed in between a heavier eighties metal sounding backbone. LONELY NIGHTS is more of a head-banger and is akin to what JUDAS PRIEST and ACCEPT were doing half way through the eighties. FIRE IT UP feels like David Lee Roth era VAN HALEN, it’s a great example of just how similar this band can sound to other groups when it tries. Just like every rock album of the eighties there is a big power ballad called UNDER THE RAIN, some great vocals in this one. DAMN HOT CHICK is a sort of mix between KROKUS and VAN HALEN, melodic rock with some bar rock balls to it. HEART BREAKING REBEL BLOOD sounds like a heavier iteration of the Sammy Hagar era VAN HALEN mixed with the chugga-chugga JUDAS PRIEST riffery. DREAMING HOLLYWOOD is one of the flatter tracks of the album in the verses but then it also features some really, really cool KISS inspired chorus lines. STOP LYING IN THE NAME OF LOVE closes the album out in pretty good fashion by bringing back the KISS meets JUDAS PRIEST vibe that made the first couple of tracks so enjoyable.

Put simply, this is a fan service album made for fans of all things eighties rock and metal and is made by people that obviously have a massive amount of passion for this sort of music. If you prefer your modern day melodic rock albums to be new-ish sounding and different then you are in for a mighty shock with this one. Truly, it sounds as though somebody found a never before heard tape from the middle of the eighties and took the songs through modern day production equipment. Me personally, well I think 1986 is a very, very fun album that truly celebrates one of the best eras the rock and metal scene has ever witnessed, and for that I really can’t fault it at all. If I was being anal and picky I would criticize the lack of originality in songwriting and lyrics, but that would be detrimental to what THE ORDER have tried to achieve. As a complete this review I noticed that the album had hit the Swiss charts big-time…I’m not surprised in the least.

 

Written By ZeeZee

Rating : 9/10

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Categories
Album Reviews
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EXTREME’S UNMATCHED MUSICAL MASTERY AND ELECTRIFYING STAGE PRESENCE: A DEFINING FORCE IN ROCK HISTORY LIVE AT MARS MUSIC HALL, HUNTSVILLE, AL

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