LIONVILLE may not be a name that is well known yet, but they should be. LIONVILLE formed 12 years ago, in Italy with their most recent delivery with Frontiers Records bringing their AOR sound to the world And deliver LIONVILLE does, with their 5th release So Close to Heaven, an eleven-track AOR Melodic rock album filled with melody and guitar riffs and rhythm that sets the album apart from the others.

So Close to Heaven starts out with the track "This Time" a melodic track filled with strong vocals from Stefano Lionetti and Lars Safsund, vocals that are not overpowering and drown out the rest of the band, rather the vocals take the instruments and lift them up, and put them in the forefront of the track, making it stand out and be accepted by AOR melodic rock fans.

"The World is On Fire" has a familiar sound to it, putting it into a set category would limit the track, with the abundance of keyboard and pop sound, relating to today's rock and falling back to the heyday of the 80's LIONVILLE give a salute to the greats of that era, with this track, which reminds me of the band Toto and some of their most memorable tracks, filled with a fitting guitar solo and keyboards keeping the track flowing, its one for both new and old Melodic rock fans.

The mid album track "We Are One" is a track that flows into another dimension entirely, leaving the rest of the album wide open for anything from the previous albums. LIONVILLE have a pretty down to the science way of making an album, yet toss in something different with each album to keep you guessing.  "We Are One" is a more up-tempo track, that is driven further with the keyboards, which almost drown out the rest of the musicians on the track, then takes it down a notch giving each one their time through the song.

"I'll Be Waiting Tonight" really takes the vocals of Stefano Lionetti and Lars Säfsund  and shines the spotlight on them, bringing the album full circle, giving AOR fans yet another style to their full repertoire of musical knowledge and style, literally something for every fan on this album. The tempo on this track is slower than previous but not to the point that its slow, by any means, more so it takes a bit more time to get to the chorus and then they let loose on the chorus, making it a song full of life.

I was hoping for yet another trick up their sleeves with the last song on the album "So Close to Heaven" and was left a bit disappointed, from the keyboard intro to the guitar solo, it felt a lot like the rest of the album, and left me wanting more. Though the track is up tempo and truly bleeds melodic rock, its missing something that I can't pin point. It feels quiet like the other tracks, where I was hoping it would stand out for me, instead of taking aspects of the previous tracks on the album and coming to life that way.

LIONVILLE create a well written, well performed fifth album with So Close to Heaven. In the 12 years as a band, they have stuck pretty close to the same formula when creating their music, with a few additions and surprises throughout which keeps them relevant and fans wanting to hear more. Each track on the album is well done on its own, though together I feel like that album is lacking, a bit of surprise, the theme the same, but overall a great album, filled with everything you've come to love from melodic rock like solid strong vocals, keyboards and lots of guitar to carry you through your listening experience.