Here is a little treat for the lovers of 80s melodic Hard Rock sound from Metal Heaven. GRAND DESIGN from Sweden began as a project back in 2006 and Time Elevation is their first album. Well, the cover can be a bit tricky, as it leads to the thought that probably we deal with a progressive band here, but that is not the case. It is quite evident which bands have inspired GRAND DESIGN from the very early moments, with DEF LEPPARD being first on the list. Well, no problem by that, and if the band is doing it right, no problem at all. At least the musicianship is tight, with nice delivering.

Ten tracks are included, where the 80s sound is dominant (EUROPE, DEF LEPPARD) with some tiny traces of progressiveness reminding of QUEENSRYCHE, wrapped with nice solos, moving n the mid-tempo and really easy to listen to, though this album is lacking the personal style and that is a real pity because the effort invested in this album shows a bunch of talented musicians. Sheik Iddup is probably the best track of the album, and if it wasn't for the vocals many people could assume that this is a DEF LEPPARD hit.
Really hard to figure out what is going on here. Is it about musicians that really love that kind of music and present their own effort to the public or is it about musicians that want a further recognition and try to fit in somebody else's shoes? Whatever the case is, GRAND DESIGN will not disappoint the fans of melodic Hard Rock for sure. If all that you seek is the party mood, then invest without a second thought.