H.E.A.T's 'H.E.A.T II' - Album Review

As I have discussed many times throughout the years on this blog, Scandinavia has really become a hotbed of great rock and metal acts over the past couple of decades. I am not quite sure why this is the case, as there are very few relatively classic acts from the 1970s and 1980s representing that part of the world, but in recent years the Swedes and the Finns in particular have picked up some of the slack - with newer rock and metal acts of the traditional persuasion coming from the UK and America somewhat on the wane. This, of course, is not a hard and fast rule, but there are certainly a large amount of Scandinavian bands in my music collection - many of which are excellent and firm favourites. One such band is H.E.A.T, an AOR act that has been going since 2007, who I became aware of around 2011 and picked up their third album Address the Nation when it was released in 2012. I listened to Address the Nation a lot around the time of its release - but for whatever reason the band dropped off my radar somewhat not too long after. I picked up 2014's Tearing Down the Walls and a double pack containing the band's first two albums in slow time over the next few years, but I never really made the effort to digest those albums properly. I am not sure why I essentially ignored the band for so long, especially as I had listened to Address the Nation a lot, but I think my initial reaction to Tearing Down the Walls might have had something to do with it. Tearing Down the Walls, an album I like a lot not, just did not do all that much for me upon its release - so H.E.A.T basically lay dormant as part of my listening habits for a few years. This was until 2018, when the band were announced as one of the support acts for a Quireboys concert that I was attending in London. In the lead up to the show I went back and re-appraised the band's catalogue, including picking up 2017's Into the Great Unknown, and kicked myself for not paying them more attention over the years. I found much to like on all five of the band's albums, and this re-discovery of the band culminated in their excellent showing at The Quireboys' London gig. Since then, the band have been a big part of my musical landscape once more. I was not about to let them go again, so I pre-ordered the band's sixth album, the curiously titled H.E.A.T II, as soon as it was announced. I have been living with the album for a couple of weeks now have already found a lot within it to love - especially as there seems to have been a conscious effort from the band to go back to the more overblown and keyboard-driven AOR sound of their early work; rather than continuing the somewhat more cinematic sound that they have been toying with recently. Interviews with the band reveal that they challenged themselves to write songs as if they were re-writing their debut album, hence the title H.E.A.T II, and there are certainly plenty of shades of the Kenny Leckremo-era here - along with a confidence and power that has been built up over the 13 years the band have been together.

As guitarist Dave Dalone and keyboardist Jona Tee were the band's main songwriters during the Leckremo years, it is therefore fitting that they have, either on their own or together, written almost the entire album - as well as produced it. A composition of Tee's is up first, the percussive hard rocking Rock Your Body, which gets the album off to an anthemic start. After a sparkling synth riff, the song settles down on a solid mid-paced groove based around a bluesy guitar riff - which allows frontman Erik Grönwall space to really shine vocally. The song's verses are pretty simple, letting the grooves and Grönwall's big vocal melodies shine; with the choruses seeing a big increase in kinetic energy with some powerful, stomping drums. Despite this percussive shift, the chorus maintains the song's overall simplicity with a repetitive but addictive vocal refrain that is sure to go down well live. H.E.A.T have always had a certain toughness to their sound, even during their early years, and this track is a perfect meeting of the band's old and new sounds. Not wanting to be outshone by Tee early on, Dalone's first contribution Dangerous Ground is a fast-paced riff-driven rocker with possibly one of the album's best choruses. H.E.A.T have not written a chorus this infectious and filled with retro synths since probably the Address the Nation album, despite some tough competition, and as a result the song has stood out to me since my very first listen to the album. Despite the huge melodies, which Grönwall perfectly executes, there is still the band's patented hard rocking edge present throughout. Dalone's guitars are packed with crunch, and drummer Crash's beats really punch through the mix. A fast-paced shredded Dalone solo only adds to the song's power and appeal, and this is a song that has already made it onto the list of my favourite H.E.A.T songs. Come Clean, the album's sole composition from bassist Jimmy Jay, recalls the more cinematic sound of Into the Great Unknown - with that album's scope on full display. The song is based around a symphonic keyboard melody, with the crunch of the opening two numbers toned down a little to allow the atmospherics to shine a little more. That is not to say that there is no heft here, as the song still packs a strong punch, but the weight is just presented in a slightly different way - with Jay's basslines unsurprisingly creating a strong pulse throughout. Another winning chorus is contained within, with the band harmonising well with Grönwall as he holds some impressive long notes. Victory returns from the slight deviation of Come Clean a powerful beast - with Dalone driving everything forward with a sharp riff while Tee backs him up with some growling organ. There is certainly a bit of a heavier vibe throughout this track, and it reminds me a little of Edguy - or at least the more recent Edguy albums where Tobias Sammet started writing more straight ahead hard rock tracks as opposed to power metal. The song is packed full of great vocal melodies, with Grönwall hitting some pretty high notes at times, and an anthemic chorus that is sure to go down well live, complete with some double bass drumming from Crash.

We Are Gods goes for more of a bluesy hard rock vibe, with a strident Dalone riff pinning everything together while Grönwall does his best Paul Rodgers impression during the song's opening moments. Tee's keyboards take a bit of a backseat here, with the guitars and bass pushed right to the fore. Jay's bass has a real rumble to it here, and there are moments where he really dominates sound - which helps to add to the weighty, bluesy sound that the song is gunning for. While the song is actually quite different to the overall vibe that the album portrays, the song still manages to not sound out of place. H.E.A.T have often thrown these more muscular tracks onto their albums to change up the pace somewhat, and the affect here is to create a bit of a headbanger and a little bit of a break from the synths. Adrenaline instantly returns to the 1980s songbook however, with anthemic wordless vocal melodies backing a soaring synth lead during the song's intro - while a pacy verse sees a big backing vocal presence acting in a call-and-response fashion with Grönwall. This is one of those songs that just grabs you from the off, with the intro vocal refrain really sinking into the brain, with each new portion of the track containing a hook or melody that just takes hold. A more-percussive pre-chorus adds a bit of groove that keeps things interesting, while the pomp chorus - which is packed with great keyboard stabs from Tee - is energetic and catchy. One By One, another anthemic rocker in the vein of Rock Your Body, is the only track on the album co-written by Grönwall. I would say that his influence has lead to more of a vocal dominance throughout the song, but in truth the whole album is constructed around his soaring vocal melodies. This track is no different, with another chorus that could rank up there amongst the band's best yet and a generally engaging vocal performance from Grönwall that shows why he is probably one of the best melodic rock singers in the business at the moment. In truth, this is just one of those songs that perfectly sums up everything that H.E.A.T are about. A melodic solo from Dalone showcases the band's musical prowess, while the tight arrangement and the enormous hooks are packed with the H.E.A.T stamp of quality. Nothing to Say slows things down and acts as a bit of a ballad, with Tee's sparkly keyboards opening the song up while Grönwall croons atop them. Grönwall is a very expressive vocalist, and as a result tends to go 'big' during every song. Sometimes, during the slower songs especially, it may be wise of him to rein it in a little to allow the gentler songs to act more of a contrast with the bulk of the band's material. He is a singer that likes to be turned up to eleven at all times, which is not a criticism as he sounds great, but a little more restraint during the ballads would go a long way in my opinion. He somewhat dominates the early portions of this track, although when the rest of the band come in for a sombre mid-paced chug the balance does even out somewhat. In my view, H.E.A.T are a band that excel when really going for broke in any case - with their rockers easily eclipsing their ballads in terms of quality.

Heaven Must Have Won an Angel is another somewhat slower track, but in more of a mid-paced Survivor-esque way than a ballad-esque way. This is a song that has really grown on me over repeated listens of the album, and has become one of my favourite cuts here. It opens in a fairly low key manner with some simple keyboard melodies, but soon opens up into a bass-led verse with some bluesy guitar leads mixed into the background and a wall of atmospheric keyboards which Grönwall sings atop. It is not an all-out rock track, but more of a smooth piece of AOR (with a little of the H.E.A.T crunch) that recalls tracks such as Mannequin Show or the Into the Great Unknown title track. There is certainly a little of the latter's cinematic approach here, with plenty of atmospheric keyboards and spacey harmony vocals - but with more overtly-prominent hooks that just really shine through. Under the Gun picks up the pace again after a couple of more restrained tracks with a machine gun opening riff and a classic rock strut present throughout due to some off-kilter drumming from Crash. The track does very little different than most of the other songs on the album, but due to its position in the tracklist following the two slower tunes it feels like a real shot of energy. The hooks here certainly are not as strong as the ones present in many of the album's songs, but the energy throughout seems to carry it perfectly without the need to go all out and make each line a hook of its own. This is a track that revels more in classic rock excess in any case, with a shredded Dalone solo perfectly encapsulating this mood and ethos. The album's final track, Rise, is similar in style to Heaven Must Have Won an Angel with a mid-paced approach - although there is certainly more of a toughness here with Dalone's bluesy riffing ever-present throughout. Jay's bass drives everything forward, while Tee turns the clock back to the 1980s with lots of excellent stabs of retro-sounding synths that often cut through the mix with their sparkle. It is the chorus that really brings everything together however, and again the cinematic approach of Into the Great Unknown's title track (which, in my opinion, is a very underrated song in the band's canon) is employed here. Occasional gang vocals throughout the chorus add weight, while Grönwall brings his big personality and soaring melodies to the lyrics - often competing with Tee's keyboards for prominence as the band go at full-tilt. It is great way to round the album out, and is likely to be another song that becomes a setlist staple for the band going forward. Overall, H.E.A.T II is a great sixth album from the Swedish five-piece that recaptures some of their early sound without losing the progress and slight stylistic shifts that they have made over their career. The album has already become one of my favourite H.E.A.T releases, and there is certainly a chance that it could find itself in my Albums of the Year list come December as there are just so many great and memorable hooks to be found within.

The album was released on 21st February 2020 via earMusic. Below is the band's promotional video for One By One.