When dealing with older bands, one must have in mind one thing: is the album worthy of being heard? It means that some old acts lost their dignity along the way (maybe money could be a good explanation to such fact), while others keep things always interesting and refreshing the ears and mind of the fans. The last idea is where the veterans of SPEED LIMIT fit, hailing from Austria with another assault, called "Cut a Long Story Short". Active since 1984, it's obvious that the quartet's music is a combination of 70s Hard Rock elements and melodies (some QUEEN's-like choirs can be heard on "New Horizon") with NWOBHM weight, Heavy Metal energy and hooking melodies inherited of AOR.

Their musical work can seem to younger fans as something heard before, but for those that can pay attention deeply will see that their music is full of personality in a way that only an experienced band can show. It's full of a savage energy and with songs with charming melodies, and they still can teach many lessons to younger acts about being relevant and honest. The recordings and mixing were done by the hands of Joe Eder (one of the band's guitarist), with mastering done by Christoph Stickel. The main idea is to keep the organic and handmade feeling of the 70s and 80s, but allowing the band's music to be expressed in a form that can be fully understood by anyone. In other words: it's a very good result, but it could be better.

There is a change in the band's line-up, once the drummer Hannes is singing, what didn't change anything on their musical ideas and ways, so one can expect something great on their 9 excellent songs, especially during "Shine Brighter Than the Sun" (excellent guitar duets with contrasts between NWOBHM/Hard Rock elements and accessible touches, and a remarkable chorus can be heard, with charming vocals and backing vocals), "New Horizon" (another one with excellent choruses, but the contrasts between weight and clean parts on the guitars is amazing), "Eye on You" (it's filled with the melodic aggressive feeling of the 80's with a good technical work and a solid playing on bass guitar and drums), "The Lady is on Fire" (an accessible song with tons of influences of Blues, Rock 'n' Roll and Boogie, but with some heavier parts), "Destiniy's Calling" (what lovely melodies and chorus), and "Hit the Wall" (the song of the official video, so be prepared to a blow of raw energy mixed with accessible charming melodies).

But there are some surprises: two live shots, "Sweet Morphine" and "Retired Hero" (both recorded live at Seeham, showing that their studio recordings are done in a way that enables them to play perfectly on live shows, an honest feature, you know) , a 2019's recording for "Ways and Means" (even being accessible, one can feel the massive energetic blow of it in the ears), and a re-recorded version for "Head Over Heels" (it can make older rockers become breathless).

After listening to "Cut a Long Story Short", one can have in mind that SPEED LIMIT is far from retirement, because their music is still great and relevant.