The Big Deal released their first album “The First Bite” in 2022.The band from Serbia have finally released their sophomore album “Electrified”. The band formed by husband and wife Nevena and Srdjan Brankovic also adding a second female vocalist Anna Nikolic , drummer Marko Milojevic and former Frontiers Music exec Alessandro Del Vecchio who signed the band after hearing the bands demos. However for this album Alessandro is replaced by Nikola Mijic on bass. The Big Deal have appeared at The KissKruise with also an appearance at the Spanish Imperium Rock Festival sharing a stage with the legendary Europe and Deep Purple. On “Electrified” The Big Deal collaborated with Jona Tee (H.E.A.T.) and Anders Wikstrgom of Treat.

I really liked the debut album “The First Bite” it was one of my best albums of 2022,packed with some great tracks, so I was pleased when “Electrified” dropped into my inbox! After the intricate keyboard intro the opener “Survivor” which is the first single bursts into life big drums, guitar ,with mellow breaks, a powerful chorus with Nevena and Anna delivering a powerful harmonic chorus, a great start to this opus. ”Like A Fire” has that distinct The Big Deal sound, ,a fast tempo track with a great melodic guitar solo and keyboard face off mid track, catchy and electric chorus with that great European melodic sound ”Fairy Of White” is a more symphonic, power metal style track which has a bit of drama, mystery and gothic feel, more heavier guitar riffs and rhythm .”Better Than Hell” is a great melodic track, the vocals are infectious ,the synth work is great almost giving the track a classical touches ,some nice melodic guitar runs.

”Don't Talk About Love” is a collaboration with Jona Tee and Alessandro Del Vecchio which for me is clearly evident, whilst the other tracks so far are good, this one steps it up a notch lyrically plus song structure & melody wise, a strong track which should have been a single or possibly a future one. ”Burning Up” goes down that heavier road, with fast tempo, faster drums. ”Burning Up” and  “They Defied” has a more melodic nature, again with those distinct vocal harmonies ,but the keys & synths are a bit over indulgent for me with the heavier ending on the latter seeming pretty pointless. ”Dare To Dream” is the album closer, one of the best tracks on the album, great harmonic vocals ,a track with a positive message with a soaring chorus. “Electrified” in all honesty did not grab my attention as quickly as “The First Bite” did. But on hearing it a couple of spins later I did grow to like most of it, there is a couple of tracks which were just mediocre, but the other strong tracks compensated for that. At times the synths/keys were over indulgent for me in some tracks. The vocal harmonies are really good and Nevena Brankovic and Anna Nikolic do compliment each other. A good release from The Big Deal but I think their debut was a lot better.