Despite my misgivings with the album, it opens with two of its strongest cuts. Shadowman is a fantastic opening number that recalls the band's debut album perfectly - showcasing the band's love of modern pop hooks and weighty metal riffing. It opens with a spoken word passage backed with delicate synths, before Jimmy Westerlund's first big riff kicks in. The song's main riff is one of the album's most driving moments, with drummer Ossi Sivula locking in perfectly with Westerlund - the former's double bass drum patterns only enhancing the riff's power. The verses are smooth, and allow Linman to showcase why he is probably one of the best modern melodic rock singers going. His voice is extremely poppy, but this acts as a great contrast with the heavier sound that the band cultivate. He can be powerful when he wants to be too however, such as during the song's soaring, hooky chorus which is up there with some of the best moments on the band's debut. A couple of aching guitar solos really add to the song's overall sound - creating this perfect mix of pop, heaviness, and emotion. Shadowman is a great representation of what One Desire are about, and as a result it is a perfect opening track. After You're Gone acted as the album's lead single, and it is another strong number that is built around a melodic, mid-paced guitar hook; before a beefy verse pushes Jonas Kuhlberg's bass to the fore to create a rhythmic groove. Despite this strong groove, which is retained throughout pretty much the whole song, there are still a lot of pop hooks to enjoy. Being a single, the song is very easy to digest, and the melodies are pushed to the front throughout. Linman's verse vocals are a little grittier than usual, but he returns to his usual poppier style for a smooth chorus. It is not the most explosive chorus that the band have written, but the melodies fit perfectly within the strident, groovy feel of the song. It is still very catchy though, again recalling some of the best moments found on the band's debut album. Unfortunately however, the album rarely reaches the heights of the opening two songs again. Down and Dirty does come close however, and the album's third song is another memorable effort with a strong chorus and a bit of a different approach that opens with pulsing piano and acoustic guitars. There is something very Top 40-esque about the song's opening, with Linman's voice altered somewhat by effects to give it that modern pop sound. The verses are pretty laid back, which fits in nicely within this poppy approach - and it is the first of the album's songs that really goes for the more cinematic approach which comes to define the album. This track still emphasises the hooks however despite the bigger sound, and the featured chorus still hits pretty hard - with Linman's vocal hooks cutting through the mix nicely while the cinematic approach is retained.
Godsent Extasy (I am not sure if that is a deliberate typo or not...) starts promisingly, but also contains all the issues that I have with this album as a whole. The song's main riff is pretty good, with Westerlund's playing whipping up a decent amount of energy while some keyboards back it up nicely - but the song just never really capitalises on this pace. I like my AOR to be poppy, but this song is almost pure pop with a bit more of a guitar-based presence. The chorus, while somewhat memorable, just does not really grab me in a big way; with Linman's vocal hooks washing over me; and the song as a whole seems to be more about creating a beat and a groove than providing memorable hooks. There is a guitar solo, but it is buried in the mix to the point that it might as well not be there; and it just makes me wonder what sound the band were trying to achieve with this song. Unfortunately these issues also raise their heads again throughout much of the rest of the album, but Through the Fire is a bit different and goes for a ballad approach that works nicely. The song is largely acoustic-based, with Linman's vocals given much more space to shine - especially early on where he is only backed by some acoustic guitars and some very sparse keyboards. Despite much of the song relying on a stripped back approach, there are still moments that ramp up the power and go for a fuller sound. The rest of the band join Linman and Westerlund for one of the song's choruses, which sounds great, and Westerlund's soaring guitar solo is backed by a powerful driving beat. This is one of the album's stronger songs for me, as it priorities hooks and melodies over scope - and it sounds all the better for it. Heroes is a decent track, but it lacks the big hooks that make some of the band's best material really tick. After saying that One Desire do not really sound like typical Frontiers fodder, Heroes is one song that could actually sit comfortably on any of those generic project albums. It is built around a fairly solid mid-paced riff that creates a decent groove, but nothing about the song really stands out - to me at least. The chorus sounds decent while the song is being listened to, but it has very little staying power - with Linman's solid vocal performance just doing nothing to make the hooks stick. It is a shame, as the song itself is not that bad - but it is just very 'meat and potatoes' Frontiers AOR - which is not something that can often be used to describe One Desire's material. Rio is a bit stronger, and it opens with a dramatic piano and guitar intro that goes someway towards building some tension - but this is never truly capitalised on as Linman's opening vocal melodies are very flowery and they clash somewhat with the opening. That being said however, the song is still enjoyable. These opening vocal lines do not last for too long, and much of the rest of the song does live up to the piano-based intro. Those melodies return occasionally throughout the song for Linman to sing over and the combination works well - it is just a shame that the intro is as jarring as it is. The song is a decent ballad, with a great laid back summery groove, but sadly some of the pieces do not quite mesh together in the way that the band clearly expected that they would.
Battlefield of Love sounds like it is going to be another ballad with its low key acoustic intro, but it soon morphs into a strong uptempo rocker that actually sees the band getting back to doing what they do best. It is a bit of a strange song overall, but it is one where I actually think that the more cinematic approach works in the band's favour. While the hooks here are not as interesting as some of the best songs of the previous album, I like the overall approach taken here. The arrangement is a bit different from the norm, and actually sounds a little bit progressive - which is not something that can be said too often about an AOR band. The band's trademark mix of heavy riffing and poppy vocal melodies is on display perfectly here, and it is one of the few songs on the album that goes for this approach in a big way. There is definitely less riffing overall on this album, and I think that is part of my overall issue with it. The cinematic approach taken elsewhere often hides both the riffs and the hooks; but Battlefield of Love shows that it is possible to do everything at once in a cohesive and enjoyable way. The awkwardly-titled K!ller Queen takes a bit of a heavier approach initially, which is nice to see, with a fast-paced riff opening the song up - but sadly this is never really capitalised on. As soon as Linman starts to sing, this heaviness is immediately disposed of and it never really returns. The guitars are so stunted and buried in the majority of the mix here that their presence is barely felt at all, and none of the vocal hooks ever seem to stick. It is a real shame as the song starts out in such a promising way, but the production choices really hold the song back from reaching its full potential. This should have roared like Shadowman, but instead it just becomes a bit of a bloated, synth-heavy mess that really sums up the overall issues that I have with the album. The album comes to a close with Only When I Breathe, a decent slower number that contains lots of strong piano playing and soundscapes. It is barely a rock song at all in truth, with Linman's voice taking the spotlight throughout while acoustic guitars and piano form the main backing. Despite the fact that the rest of the band never join in to bulk the song up, it still works nicely as an album closer. In some ways, I would not be surprised if this is the sort of direction that the band would like to head in more often. They have certainly stunted their heavier aspirations with some of the production choices made throughout the album, and songs like this allow the band's poppier side to really shine. Overall, Midnight Empire is a bit of a curate's egg of an albm. I enjoy some of the songs a lot, but many of them leave me cold and I do wonder whether the band is struggling a bit with the direction that they want to take. Some of the songs have that great mix of melody and heaviness from the debut, but others are quite blunt and are bloated by a packed production that, in my opinion, covers over what the band do best. I will be interested to see where they go from here, but sadly Midnight Empire can only be described as a step down from the band's excellent debut.
The album was released on 22nd May 2020 via Frontiers Records. Below is the band's promotional video for After You're Gone.
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