![]() ![]() Josh Taerk’s latest Sunday Session was streamed on Sunday 18 September.Ĭheck out this session, and previous videos, here: ĭavid Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. Plenty of melody, strong choruses and the wonderful vocals of Lars Säfsund. You can’t really go wrong when two talents in the Scandi melodic rock scene combine as on here. Hopefully Grand Illusion and Work Of Art will continue alongside Art Of Illusion, as there is easily room for all three, especially as they are more studio based projects and not always on tour. Very theatrical and perhaps the work Lars Säfsund has done with Disney rubs off on this song? ![]() There are a couple of bizarre musical offerings, ‘Waltz For The Movies’ recalls cult prog/pomp band A.C.T. ‘Let The Games Begin’ mixes pomp and AOR to good effect, reminiscent of Robbie Valentine with lots thrown into the mix musically, and a again emphasis on the vocals and their arrangements. They can rock out too, just listen to the fast paced ‘Go’ which features some top guitar soloing. There are shades of Toto on ‘Run’, then on ‘Snakebite Charm’ you have a neat piece of modern melodic rock – definite shades of Grand Illusion’s love of backing vocal arrangements on here. Anders Rydholm is no slouch either having worked with Overland, Seikima II and Japanese artist Demon Kakka. Lars Säfsund is well known in melodic rock circles not only for Work Of Art but also for his singing with Lionville and Enbound. This is the debut album by Art Of Illusion, a duo consisting of composer and producer Anders Rydholm (Grand Illusion) and singer Lars Säfsund (Work Of Art) – see what they did there with the band name? Very good chaps! Special praise must also be given to Lars Säfsund for his heartfelt and spectacular vocals but this should not come as a surprise as he is a fabulous and very much in demand vocalist.Share the post "Album review: ART OF ILLUSION – X Marks The Spot" There are the usual smouldering ballads and Journey type rockers and the hint of humour make this just a little different from the usual new melodic rock being delivered. ![]() The musicians also seem to be having a great time and there are a couple of very Queen inspired tracks of whimsy which are a sheer delight and you just have to listen to the rather mock operatic A Culinary Detour which is crazy homage to Italian cuisine and completely and utterly quite bonkers. X Marks The Spot is a rather refined melodic/AOR album from a most talented team of musicians and songwriters and is delivered with style and panache. It will be interesting to see if the band remains as a project or if it will become a true touring group and and which musicians will be recruited but that is obviously a decision for another day. The rest of the musicians (and there are many) featured on the album do so as guests with guitarists Jay Graydon, Muris Varajic, Kristian Larsen, Pelle Holmberg and Daniel Rydholm with drums courtesy of Frank Nilsson, backing vocals from Per Svensson and steel guitar from Tony Paoletta. As is usual and to be expected in melodic rock the material is fully of catchy, up-beat melodies with plenty of hooks to keep you interested and the vocal harmonies are exceptional. Anders Rydholm plays keyboards, bass and rhythm guitar whilst Lars Säfsund supplies the vocals and some keyboards too. Indeed, this is another of those classic albums that could have been recorded at any time in the last 40 years or so as it takes that sumptuous hair metal vibe from the ’80s and infuses it with all the modern recording techniques so that it pays homage to its melodic rock roots yet is not dated in any way. The Swedes seem to have perfected the art of ageless, smooth and radio friendly melodic rock with that special transatlantic sound that increases the popularity exponentially. #Art of illusion x marks plusand Giant plus vocal harmonies straight out of the Queen school of song writing. Given the two musicians history then there is obviously a flavour of Grand Illusion and Work Of Art but there are also influences from Europe, Asia, H.E.A.T. X Marks The Spot is the band’s debut release and is an album of very finely crafted melodic metal which is very accessible with great songs and steeped in sheer class. ![]()
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