The island of Rhodes, Greece proved to be the go-between for this band to form/carry on. Lars Forseth saw Michael Bormann singing in a Rock Club down there (late 90s summer) and - left astonished by the man's voice - grabbed him to complete the Rain lineup. You know the summer love stories in the Greek islands? Yeap, this one's even bigger, since Rain - nine years after the 'birth' commenced - deliver their second album, Stronger, and fans of melodic Hard Rock will applaud with relief.
The countries of Norway and German collaborated in this almost unknown band. All three other members - apart from Bormann - were playing in the same band called Bangkok Babes; one-and-a-half albums I read they had released prior to 'formatting' Rain. On the other side, the deeds of Michael Bormann are known to fans of the genre. Jaded Heart, Jurgen Blackmore (yes, his son), Bonfire and - lately - Red Rum and Zeno. Hence, such a 'tie' was obviously of a good level when Rain's debut album House Of Dreams came out in 2002. On the other hand, all members' side activities did not prevent from 'leaving' Rain in the background for awhile. Now, four years later, Stronger steps in and the rain starts pouring down in our ears with much of quality.
The recordings for Stronger took place at Bormann's own studio in Duisburg, Germany in 2005. The first impression - proved to be the last, also - is the fact that Stronger sounds heavier than the debut and simply as the natural follow-up to Jaded Heart. The album is semi-Scandinavian and lots of German, highlighting the chemistry in the band. The songs cover a wider variety of hardrockin' tunes to more sentimental slow-tempo ballads, while the instrumentation is as needed for such a release. The vocal lines of Bormann are - again - first-class, while special focus should be given to the grand lead guitar themes (Richie Sambora be my guide). The likes of Fair Warning, 'sweet' Bonfire and (generally) Bon Jovi are coming to mind, to give a 'deeper' idea on what's Stronger dealing with.
A good album; Stronger is a good album. Nothing less, nothing more. Nothing groundbreaking but - any way - will fit like a glove to the Melodic Rock fans' needs. Hope we won't wait for another four years - like the elections - to see another Rain release. An 'effective' act, should I add.