Well, MTM Music releases an album a little bit far away from its usual issues. Fatal Force do not belong to the classic AOR/Keyboard Hard Rock roster of the label, and I wonder if this is the first move of a general 'update' of the MTM sound style. We've seen fellow labels open Metal-isque branches before, a wider point of view from labels that tend to stick (so far) to a certainly deteriorated style of music.
Torben Enevoldsen is a Danish guitar player I knew nothing about. However, it seems the guy holds some reputation in the Scandinavian side of Europe. Having already released three instrumental solo albums, he was also been involved in the Section A project. Now, writing tunes focused on the more melodic side of European Hard & Heavy music, he went on a hunt for the appropriate band members to handle the respective duties. And what a survey result this was! Mats Leven (Swedish Erotica, At Vance, Treat, Yngwie Malmsteen) got the 'mic' job while Daniel Flores (Speedy Gonzales, Mind's Eye, Faro) sat behind the drum kit.
To the point: Fatal Force is full of melodic Hard & Heavy tunes excellently played, while Leven's performance is brilliant. In addition, the production (Tommy Hansen has done various shit with the likes of Helloween, Pretty Maids, TNT etc) is outstanding, bringing 100% of the band's abilities to forefront. Hence, it all gets down to the music. Well, not to say anything embarrassing, it seems that certainly good ideas do not make it up to create an exceptional album. Many times, through the audition, my mind clicked on the I've-heard-it-somewhere-else-before alarm. Some of the Swedish Hard Rock standards, enough of European melodic Metal melodies and half an eye looking at the American 80's 'poser' Rock pattern (due to Leven's presence and some of Enevoldsen's style, mainly).
Again, no dealin' with the devil, fans of the specific style/sound will find this to be a brilliant release! The vocals are amazing, the guitars are blistering and the drums are rock-solid. It's just the personality that is not present at all, plus I don't see me playin' the album again in the near future.