If there's one thing Sweden had to offer in 2015, it was some top quality Rock music specifically in the Melodic Rock & AOR genres, but we got some Hard Rock gems too. There were some iffy releases but as a whole, 2015 was a good year for Sweden. Needless to say, 2016 is going to be a tough act to follow, so will it come close? Let's find out with a review of the second album from the Swedish Hard Rock band, BILLION DOLLAR BABIES.

Formed in 2005 in Falun in Sweden, the group is known for their explosive and entertaining live shows. In the 11 years they've been together, they have performed over 200 concerts across Europe as well as playing some of the biggest Swedish festivals. From 2005-2007, they released three EP's, and in 2011 the band's first full length album, "Die For Diamonds" was released. The band went on a tour to promote the record, playing gigs across Germany, Switzerland and Austria. A year later, a fourth EP was released titled  "House of Dreams Pt. 1" and now, four years later in 2016 the group's second full-length album, "Chemical God" is ready for release and this is my verdict on what Sweden has to offer so far in 2016.

Clocking in at around 45 minutes across 11 new songs, the new BILLION DOLLAR BABIES album kicks off with the opening track, "I Want to See You Burn" followed by "Everyone's In Love With A Chemical God" and straight away, I'm beginning to have mixed feelings. While listening to these songs, I did some research and noticed that the tracks all had a very dark and sinister tone to them. There's nothing wrong with the sinister tones, as they add strength to the already heavy melodies, I kind of like that element in some instances, but on a whole I'm not really sure. Things get a little more convoluted and mixed as the record progresses, there are songs which leave me feeling unsure due to the somewhat sinister tone and mixed melodies, such as "The Junkies Ball", "President Payne" and "When the Light Goes Out". But there are some I do take a liking too, the melodies are simple and well crafted such as "One", "Why Don't You Put Up A Fight" and "The Nightmare Began".

The songs I take a liking too have good melodies which are performed well, produced well, and mixed well, meaning they are songs you can enjoy because you can make out all the elements in the music and understand easily understand the songs. It's the opposite for the ones I am unsure of, as the performance is very hit and miss, and many of the melodies can sound a bit jumbled. It's hard really to sum it up, but I'll say that the dark and sinister tones of the songs I am unsure of don't really sit well with me. I don't mind bands trying new things, and fair play to this bunch for trying something new. But if something is too moody and sinister, it leaves me feeling restless and uneasy, just like a horror game, movie, or a gory anime.

Bottom line, the new BILLION DOLLAR BABIES album is something that although I do kind of appreciate, but it's not an album for me. This is an album of two halves in terms of the good and the bad. Give this a listen if you are curious as to what it sounds like but as a whole, it's just not something I can fully enjoy as much as I hoped I would.

Songwriting = 6/10
Performance = 6/10
Production = 6/10
/10