This Swedish quartet has been around for some years now. After 3 albums and a single live release, they have a new record by the name of "Performocracy" and it's sounds killer! The first thing you will notice about THE POODLES is that they look like they were taken out from the L.A. Glam Metal scene of the 80s; dyed hair, makeup, tight pants - all the deal. But on the other hand, they have a modern sound and a modern feel that made them sound unlike it. Their sound is like a twist of MOTLEY CRUE, IRON MAIDEN, BON JOVI and even the early U2 especially on the mellow songs.

From the first track, "I Want It All", this is an original song not to be confused with the QUEEN classic; you will hear that these guys really know what they're doing. The song has an awesome intro that works really well as the album's intro and set the vibe for the record. In addition, we can also see that the band knows really good how to write catchy choruses even though, the track's chorus is not as strong as the rest of them, but it still sits well.

From the beginning to end, this album will take you on a journey through the worlds of Hard Rock, Glam Metal, and Heavy Metal with a very melodic and formidable structure. The songs are catchy, yet not in a Justin Beeber sort of way. These guys can rock hard as seen for example on "Your Time Is Now", which is the heaviest song on the record, a very powerful Heavy Metal song with a badass riff. On the other hand, they have the power ballads like "As Time Is Passing" that is a great power ballad that truly shows what a great voice Jakob has and so it his range. However, one thing is missing in this song and that is the guitar solo, instead of a guitar solo after the break they go into this catchy vocal break that is cool but from my end, it ruined the build up of the song. So as you all can see, THE POODLES can do it all and do it good.

Production wise, the album sounds amazing! All four of the band members are incredible musicians and know how to make the band sound good and not only themselves. Henrik Bergqvist's guitar work is very good, he can do it all and he does it without taking the focus out of the other band members. I especially liked his use of delay and other effects in his rhythm sections. The production of Mats Valentineis great, he achieved a sound that is a mix of a live filling yet very produced and full of effects and synth stuff that make the songs sound depth, and off course with an excellent job.  Tobias Lindell did the mixing of the album, this one is really a treat!

THE POODLESjust as AVENGED SEVENFOLD, HINDER and CRASHDIET made the music they grow up listening to but put their stand on it and it sounds great, fresh and fun to listen if you like the sub-genre. The only thing that I noticed is that THE POODLES don't have a line, the songs sound great but their all over the place, which can be good, yet, if this was the debut album of the band it could have gotten the impression that these guys don't have a style of the own. However, their style is Rock N' Roll, and everything that they have done is Rock N' Roll just as MOTORHEAD and IRON MAIDEN always said all throughout their careers.