ALBUM REVIEW: The Poodles delve into the depths with Devil In The Details

SWEDISH melodic hard rockers The Poodles return with their newest studio release (their sixth in nine years), 'Devil in the Details' and with them about to head out on a European tour with local heroes Maverick it was time to give it a good listen. 

The album starts with two strong hard rock tracks, 'Before i Die' and 'House of Cards'. The former is a Europesque sounding tune with Jakob Samuel sounding slightly like Joey Tempest in parts,with some great guitar sounds and a big chorus.

The latter has a more heavy, sleazy sound with a great hook to it, punchy guitar riffs and melodic verses. It also has probably the best solo on the album by Henrik Bergqvist.

The first single from the album, 'The Greatest', is next up and as a change of pace is a radio friendly pop/rock mid tempo ballad with an infectious beat, strong keyboard and chorus elements and slightly deeper vocals.

'Crack in the Wall' follows with its Euro Symphonic rock vibe including driving beat, repeated riff and chorus throughout and a Spanish guitar bridge into a very tasty, if short,solo. Another strong song on the album.

'(What the Hell) Baby' is next up. "What the hell" sort of sums this up as it's more of a boy band dance song with a bit of techno thrown in for good measure. Depending on musical taste this will be a love it or hate it song but could be used at a tilt at more mainstream chart popularity (and might do very well!)

Thankfully 'Everything' returns things to normality. A melodic mid tempo power ballad/rocker with a huge chorus and obligatory key change. A strong song which will undoubtably be a live favourite.

The strange 'Stop' is next on the agenda. A pop song trying to be a rock song or vice versa? There may have been a Queen influence in certain elements of this song which didn't quite save it. Personal taste required for this one again.

'Need to Believe' has a strong Led Zeppelin influenced riff and back beat (think of a watered down Kashmir), and it is an excellent mid tempo hard rock song and one of the strongest on the album so far.

'Alive' is a typical Euro rocker starting with quite a heavy riff and it has all the elements you would expect with a big chorus sung over another nice piece of work by Bergqvist.

'Life Without You' is the heaviest track on the album and is driven along nicely by the rhythm section of Christian Lindqvist (drums) and Johan Flodqvist (bass). A very good solid hard rock song.

Penultimate song 'Creator and Breaker' could be the soundtrack of a James Bond movie and is an up tempo number with excellent guitar work,bass line and a simple but effective backing vocal which works really well. Possibly the strongest track on the album as it ticks all the boxes for this type of song.

Final track 'Borderline' starts with faded in drums which again has strong verses and chorus. A decent end to the album.

Depending on musical taste this album may hit the spot or miss it completely in parts. It's certainly worth a listen and as the title suggests the Devil, is indeed, in the details.

Review by Andy Gillen

 

Yes -that's Maverick on tour with The Poodles