Last Autumn's Dream
Hunting Shadows

Where the hell this burned compact disc with the strange photocopied cover came from, I don't even know (probably some friend must have forgotten it at my place), and honestly I don't really care. What I know is that after a few days I felt the need to order it from the trusted store, and now that I'm writing, I can't wait to prominently display it in my collection. I close my eyes and already see myself savoring the booklet while lying on the bed with this music in my ears.

I truly wish that the review that is about to be born had the strength and impact necessary to succeed in getting the aforementioned disc into the stereo systems of all those who love hard rock, AOR, the lighter and melodic metal.

This is my intent directed at those who wish they could use the radio as well to hear good music and who often, instead, complain about hearing poorly interpreted and all-the-same songs while ignoring the existence of talented bands. I write so as not to let the latest effort of the semi-unknown Last Autumn’s Dream, Hunting Shadows, be forgotten, to say that there is still high-level melodic rock in 2008.

Take a razor in hand and observe it: sharp, precise, simple, and lethal. Here you have the rough, dirty, and melodic voice of the excellent leader of the Swedish band Mikael Erlandsson. Not the usual pretty boy with an angelic voice clashing with the posture to gain video appeal and that you can't hear live, but a rocker who built his career and pipes brick by brick; on stage.

That Hunting Shadows is a genuine album can be understood right away with the intriguing and dark atmospheres of the single "Strange Operation" capable of winning us over with slow tempos marked by the impassive bass work before opening up in the chorus with a curated and tasty side of backing vocals. A sad, melodic, and damnably radio-friendly piece without selling out by denying metal influences.
The great peculiarity of the album is that the tracks are very different from each other. Pure, sunny, and airy AOR in the spring-like "Rainbow Sky" with guitar riffs serving as a distant backdrop, while "My Alibi" reminds us that Sweden is also the home of Malmsteen's Stratocaster. Five minutes capable of captivating us with driving rhythms, sublime vocal interpretation, and lightning-fast scales of solos that mesh into winning melodies of the chorus. One door closes and another opens. Are you familiar with the overused scene where someone runs down a hallway with various apparently identical doors to the left and right?? Good! By pressing the skip button we can jump from one (song) room to another to appreciate a different facet of Last Autumn’s Dream.
The ballad "I'm Not Supposed To Love You Anymore" is as classic as it gets and touching: a two-seater sofa with a view of the most romantic sunset to say goodbye while crying. Anger and inability to accept the situation in the melodic mid-tempo "War Of Your World" with strong keyboard inserts ready to intertwine in the riffing and sinuous tempos. Simple, minimalist rock to create a bit of healthy noise in "R U Ready To Rock ‘N Roll". A well-crafted crescendo instead characterizes "Serenity": probably the track with the best chorus and that demonstrates all the maturity of the band in crafting winning melodies. A thick fog descends in the piano notes of "Every Beat Of My Heart", while in "Lost In Moscow" Mikael gracefully follows the perennial accelerations and decelerations of a track that offers absolute addiction.

Last Autumn's Dream is a mature band and in this album, they show us how they can hit the mark in different ways without stereotyping their sound. Riffs, keyboards, backing vocals, and curated melodies coexist without forcing in elegant and never gaudy arrangements. The result is that everything runs smoothly and with extreme pleasure. Not even giving such a band a chance, extraordinary for instrumental/vocal technique and capable of producing varied and quality compositions, I think is deeply unjust. I hope these lines will at least intrigue someone and that word of mouth does the rest...