Ready for another Swedish 80’s themed melodic hard rock band…? Michael Palace has previously contributed on various Frontiers Records releases like First Signal and Cry of Dawn as a songwriter, and now he’s ready to with his own project: Palace.
Michael Palace has on this debut album been working together with another familiar face when dealing with Frontiers Records and Swedish hard rock releases: Daniel Flores. And they share the studio credits between them as well with Michael taking care of vocals, guitars, bass and keyboards and Daniel drums and additional keyboards.
Big lush vocal harmonies, strong hard rock grooves and catchy refrains 80’s style wrapped in a modern day production, done by of Mr. Flores, is what “Master of the Universe” is all about. The occasionally AOR influences just adds to the strong 80’s vibe that oozes through this album.
Many cool hard rock bands spring to mind when I listen to this album: Whitesnake, Street Talk, Toto, First Signal, Foreigner and Journey. This tribute to the hay-days of melodic hard rock works very well; Michael Palace has a strong voice, the refrains are catchy and the guitar leads are sound. The formula is well-known and they do not differ from the direction chosen for a second… but on the other hand: this is a cool tribute to a sound that brought us so many excellent bands in the 80’s, so why not give it a shot now…?
A solid album and while not every song hits the bulls-eye it’s still a pleasant surprise and a fine debut album.
Best moments: “Master of the Universe”, “Part of Me” and “Young/Wild/Free”.
Tracklist:
- Master of the Universe (4:43)
- Cool Runnin’ (3:57)
- Man Behind the Gun (4:45)
- Part of Me (4:02)
- No Exit (4:19)
- Matter in Hand (4:33)
- Path to Light (3:44)
- Rules of the Game (4:07)
- She Said It’s Over (4:31)
- Stranger’s Eyes (3:52)
- Young/Wild/Free (3:40)
Playing Time: 46:18
Release date: August 26, 2016
Label: Frontiers Music SrL
Website: Palace @ Facebook
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