Since the end of the 80's, when the initial screams of Alternative Rock started to be heard in the USA, Glam Metal and AOR bands ended their activities and/or entered of hiatus periods. But as both musical genres came back to life since the beginning of the XXI century, the musical pole changed its position: from USA to Europe, because many new bands are being born there (as in North America, the commercial success is in the hands of non-Rock musical genres). And one of them is the Dutch sextet TWO OF A KIND, and their latest album, "Rise", is a fine example as AOR/Melodic Rock moved definitively to Europe.

We can say that the main reference to their work is the old North American band HEART, especially by the use of two female lead voices, both alone or in duets. But the main difference is that this sextet has a modern outfit, keeping the wild and savage energy from Glam Metal names, but be prepared for their excellent choruses and fine musical arrangements, along with accessible melodies and fine harmonic structures in every single song. Of course, it's an amazing work! The album was produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by the hands of Fred Hendrix (the band's bass player), and he worked with the vision of making it clear and loud, but there's that essential distortion that Rock/Metal albums must bear. So, we can say that the band had the best of both worlds on the production, and their music deserves it.

They really did an incredible work. Having in mind that AOR/Melodic Rock is not a new musical genre, to build songs for it demands a lot of personality, what they have. And "Here is the Now" (a typical grandiose song of AOR, with excellent keyboards and vocals parts, with a seductive chorus), "Rock Your World" (a fine mix between melodies with an aggressive touch, where the guitars rule supreme with good riffs and solos), "Naked" (a strong and beautiful ballad, where the conductions of the rhythm done by bass guitar and drums are evident), "Rise" (another song with some aggressiveness, showing perfect vocal duets during the chorus), "Touch the Roof" (this one is that kind of song where vocals and keyboards mixes to create fine moments, along with the excellent guitar solo), "Higher" (this one is extremely accessible, and whose melodies can take your heart by assault), and "It Ain't Over" (a fine accessible insight was used to build its harmonies, so be prepared to be conquered) are their finest shots, besides the band hits the bull's-eye in every single song.

It's a great work, and I really enjoyed hearing "Rise", so let's hope that TWO OF A KIND can be great in the near future. They deserve it.