Band:	Freefall
Album:	Judgement Day
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	2002

01. Break out
02. Freedom
03. Judgement day
04. Danger zone
05. Nighthunter
06. Raining In my heart
07. Heed The warning
08. Fire In The sky

I must confess that I had a huge doubt when this cd arrived in my mailbox.I had it in my hands and did not dare to put it in my cdplayer, this for one simple reason: Dennis, the drummer of this Swedish band, had told me they actually played heavy metal. In my mind, heavy has a deep smell of power metal, and I really don't like it. Now I realize that I have been fooled by my prejudices. Mea culpa. Ok, they play heavy metal, but that kind of heavy that you could hear in the late 80's, with a taste of Megadeth period Youthanasia. Even if it is not my favourite style, this album has charmed me thanks to the melodies easy to remember, the very good quality of the musicians and the great overall sound.

The first track, "Break out", announces the tune of the whole album: the guitar sound is massive, the riffs are really heavy, the solos perfectly fit in the rest, I mean they seem to be a natural enlargement to the song and not just a show of ability, and the chorus, as for almost every other song, sticks in your mind for hours and hours after the listening. This is what strikes first: they have managed to make a captivating and melodic album, without sounding commercial, but with choruses that could be played on the radio, in the style of what the glam rock bands of the late 80's and early 90's could do (ok this is not a great comparison but...), just listen to "Judgement day" and "Raining in my heart" if you want a proof. This quality of the choruses, enhanced by the perfect backing vocals, creates a slutary diversity for this album that after all is in a style we've all heard one thousand times before, I mean not swollen with originality.

Let's talk about the musicians now: first, it has to be said that there was no drummer on this album, Dennis being arrived after the recording. Yet, it really sounds like a human drumming and not like a drummachine, except for the bass drum that is a bit too mechanical. Then the singer is really very good. He has no problem pushing up his voice. A funny thing: he sound like Jon Bon Jovi (on some songs, like "Danger Zone", you really think you are listening to JBJ), but with some tunes that are property of Dave Mustaine. The guitar parts are the highlight of this album: the riffs are quite simple, but when comes the time of the blazing solos, the guy doesn't fake being good, the most dazzling moments being "Break out" and "Fire in the sky".

In a nutshell, this is all of very good surprise to me, and I wonder: they have been able to avoid all the inane and unctuously sentimental elements inherent to this style, so why shouldn't it be the renewal of this long lost kind of heavy? Their only problem is that they sound a bit too old-fashioned; but please, give them a chance, you won't regret...