10 great songs - Mastered by Beau Hill, reads a post on the band's official site. Well, this is a nice thing to see since Beau Hill's skills have been carved in indestructible stone in the history of hardrockin' music (the sound he came up with in RATT and WINGER speaks for itself). So, what about WINTER PARADE? The Norwegian trio had already released an album - Midnight In Paradise (2002) - some years ago and this second album spews out of nowhere in order to establish the band's fame(?).
The story of WINTER PARADE goes back to the mid-80s, so fans of bands like TNT, STAGE DOLLS, TINDRUM and DREAM POLICE can already shape an initial 'music' figure. Add some TREAT dynamics in tempos and a general Scandinavian Hard Rock/AOR outlook of the late 80s/early 90s (not much in common with EUROPE, though) and let the good times roll if you dig this stuff. A good doze of WINTER PARADE's songwriting can act as part of a movies soundtrack too or a 'do it like STYX' approach will you find in some songparts. The remaining vibe that's transmitted is the one usually found in the melodic Rock world.
Bizarrely enough, the production is not a killer (can it be the format of the advance album?) plus it shows a non-stable level in the mix, but anyway portrays the tendency for warm melodies in minor scales by WINTER PARADE. There's tons of keys present, too, but the amplitude of the guitars remains unconstrained. Westum's vocals are 80s with a Eurovision feel and AOR basics; a remarkable voice, overall, but I have the impression he could do even better.
WINTER PARADE's style is OK, still the level of the songs does not seem high enough to attract the interest in such busy periods for the genre. If willing to add one more melodic Rock album in your collection you'll not be disappointed anyway. But I'm afraid that's all there is.