As if you couldn't tell by the way they spell their name, CRUZH is straight up 80's rock/hair metal.  They are a new band but listening to them conjures images of hairspray, leopard pants, and those inspirational 80's song from the original Transformers cartoon movie. In fact, if you are in your late 30's or beyond, then you need to stop reading this and go buy this album immediately.  However, if you are like me and just 33 then you just missed this era and it may be a little hard to understand what exactly is happening here.  But it's not a bad album, by any means.

First, the songs are super catchy. If you're listening to black or death metal, then that is probably not a good thing. For this type of band and their sound, it is the epitome of good song writing.  The songs are filled with catchy choruses, especially evident on "Aim For The Head," which in fact does hit your head because it won't leave it for days.  Tony Andersson has a very clean, melodic voice, reminiscent of BON JOVI or DEF LEPPARD, complete with the weird 80's era reverb behind all the lines.  He certainly is a capable vocalist but it's not going to blow your mind with amazing range or inflection.  His keyboards are excellent, alternating between cheesy symphonic layers and clean keyboard strokes.  Like any good melodic rock band, they compliment the songs but they don't really add truth depth; Prog this isn't but then again it isn't supposed to be.

Anton Joensson's guitar work features some really great melodic leads that kind of let the song float on by; they go with the songs but they never seen out of place as their melodic touch leads in and out of their overall sound.  The solos at the end of "Set Me Free" and "Hard To Get" are great examples of how his solos are built within the song, rather than the song being built around them. His riffs are catchy and find a good balance between light rock and glam, without being too far on either side of that spectrum. Dennis Butabi Borg  (coolest name ever by the way), is the backbone of the band with some good melodic base keeping the songs thumping along, especially shining during the guitar solos or passages that feature heavy keys such as in the song "Survive."

As with every melodic rock album I've heard, the biggest problem is there are just too many ballads.  I get that is a thing with the era that CRUZH and other bands are going for, but it makes for a rocky, misplaced ride sometimes.  All in all, metal fans won't find a whole lot here to enjoy if they are looking for just, well, metal but if rock is your thing, especially from the 80's, then you are going to find a lot to like here.