PETER HERMANSSON is going solo, and he's assembled a team of expert musicians to help him make a solid hard rock album. Boasting musicians from EUROPE, QUIET RIOT, and YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, the drummer for 220 Volt has a laundry list of performers bringing their own tastes to the album. While it's varied, the album sticks to a mainstream contemporary hard rock sound which is sure to satisfy fans of the genre. The opening track revs up and then it takes off without letting go. "Revolution" is what it says on the tin, complete with fast riffs and catchy hooks. This album definitely introduces itself as a simple rock album without bells and whistles and makes no apologies for it. The refrain slows down into an anthem to showcase the guitars, but then it ends hard and fast.

The rest of the tracks incorporate vintage techniques, including distorted guitars reminiscent of the late 60s and early 70s on "Angel Eyes", and thus, these wa-wa guitars and fade-out effects are also a throwback to the funk rock and metal in the early 90s. That said, the style varies afterward, with the following track "Perfect World" having more of a contemporary bite. However, the songs keep the same style throughout with high-pitched guitars, high and tight drums, and Hermansaon's scraggly vocals. "Hero's End" is a standout for its jutting drums and guitar riff and strong beat. The vocals really dig into their grit, giving this song even more of an edge. The call-and-response in "I Don't Need No Doctor" is also noteworthy, as Harmansaon gives the Nick Ashford track an extra "oomph" and some great hard-rock character. However, the most intense song has to be "Movin' On" with its hard and more complex guitar work (relatively speaking for the tracks on the album). I enjoy how the chorus swells in this song and how the guitars zip in and out in a syncopated way.

The first slow song, "Last Goodbye", is a simple one. It breaks up the album being the fourth track, but other than that, the broken three-chord structure is typical. "Send Me An Angel" is the same, but with more melodic yet subtle guitars. I feel like I'm sitting on a beach relaxing with a cocktail when I listen to this one. "Set Me Free" has too much of a bubblegum/Christopher Cross feel for my taste, even with the echoing chorus. The last slow song, the closing track, is a cover of DEEP PURPLE's "Soldier of Fortune". The cover is incredibly faithful to the original instrumentally. Hermansson's vocals sound comparable to David Coverdale's on the first listen, but have a distinctly rougher quality, so your mileage may vary on whether you like this version. Being an on-the-nose cover instrumentally, it doesn't stray from the original, instead, making great use of the similarities to do justice to the song. If you're looking for a different spin on the song, it's worth checking out BLACKMORE'S NIGHT's version; if you're looking for a more delicate, softer cover, that's probably as good as it's going to get.

If you're looking for a solid, traditional sounding hard rock album, I can't recommend this one enough. It kept my interest from start to finish and is all-in-all a solid hard rock album. However, the scraggly vocals can be hit or miss with listeners; the style can be a deal breaker for some listeners. If you listen to post-grunge and are looking for something that's higher caliber than the same ten songs and artists that have been playing on the radio for the last two decades, this is a good album for you. Personally, it was a good background listen: simple, and not too complex or overpowering.