Europe

Last Look At Eden

Written by: TL on 19/10/2009 15:12:44

What an entirely pointless task this is, the review of Europe's eigth studio album "Last Look At Eden". Why? Well those of you who still have a taste for 80's style classic metal will of course already be familiar and up-to-date with the career of the authors of "The Final Countdown", and as for those who feel the 80's were better left in the 80's, I'm relatively certain that no matter how much I praised it, another album from Europe is not something that would ever make you consider getting into the spirit of heavy metal past. Then again I guess it could, if Europe at least made an attempt at staying relevant here some twenty years after their days of glory, however, if "Last Look At Eden" is something to judge from, that's far from the case.

You see, with this record, what you expect is pretty much exactly what you get. Apart from the obligatory improvements in production value, there is little, if anything, to suggest that this record was written in any other context than that of the heydays of heavy metal. Melodic guitars, medium tempo, powerful vocals, cheesy lyrics and a larger than life soundscape is the order of the day, as Europe revisits the craft they represented so well back in the day, and in all honesty, it isn't very exciting to behold.

The thing is that as time has passed, music has expanded and evolved in every possible direction, becoming more and more extreme, and hence, the heavy moments of music like this do not really seem heavy any more, nor do the tender moments seem particularly emotive any longer. Within the boundaries of their century of origin, Europe are prohibited from rocking the audiences of today, and the foremost reason for their fall from fame is that they don't seem to be very interested in even trying to transcend those boundaries. In fact, if their songs ever include references to other decades, then they're mostly prior to the 80s rather than later, as there are riffs and passages here and there that bring classics like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Lynyrd Skynyrd to mind, but in all instances, they've still been Europeanized, and lost much of their charm in the transition to this the cheesiest of metal's incarnations. And even if they hadn't, I'd still be able to think of at least a small handful of other bands who are able to take the same references and inject them with much more energy and freshness. Just check out Stone Rider, Voodoo Six or even The Parlor Mob.

So yeah, in conclusion, I guess what I'm saying is just as much to be expected as the content of this album. There's obviously nothing technically wrong with the material on offer, what with Europe having kept their style going for all this time, but on the other hand, when it comes to originality and actuality, there is much left to be desired, and in conclusion, I think this is one solely for those infatuated with classic metal's original forms, rather than for those in tune with what's rocking the music scene these days.

5

Download: Last Look At Eden, Gonna Get Ready
For The Fans Of: Scorpions, Whitesnake, Oliver Weers
Listen: myspace.com/europe

Release Date 07.09.2009
earMUSIC / Universal Records

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