Stephen The old saying of "if it ain't broke, why fix it?" works perfectly fine with H.E.A.T. After the shockingly sensational debut, "Freedom Rock" was launched in the spring of 2010 as the follow up and signified their decision to stay on the 80s melodic rock platform. Musically, their songs still grow on the same roots, revolving around the classic sound of Europe, Talisman, and Bon Jovi, and while many said this one is better, I think both albums are in the equal class. However, "Freedom Rock" enjoyed a more polished production value, blowing a thicker commercial breeze on their songs.

"We're Gonna Make It To The End" makes an explosive opener, this track has a huge anthemic grip on the chorus and could be an instant hit of the band. In my opinion, this is the best track of the album. It's hard to pick the other strong tracks as you'll find many high-valued songs around, but if I had to choose, I'd say "I Can't Look The Other Way" has big hooks and memorable chorus, "Beg Beg Beg" is headbangable, energetic, and watch out for the poisonous joyful chorus, "Stay" is another radio friendly great midtempo track, "Everybody Wants To Be Someone" is a spine-chilling passionate ballad, and "I Know What It Takes" is so lovable and infectious. The rest are pretty good as well except "High On Love" which I think is a bit patchy.

Not long after the band released yet another fans-cheering album, singer Kenny Leckremo decided to step off the stage permanently to pursue his own personal objectives. While I still believe in the capability of the band, looking for the right singer is not an easy task, but I hope they'll survive this just like AC/DC, Van Halen or Journey did. "Freedom Rock" is a delightful wonderment, shows no sign of declining, and puts H.E.A.T on top of their game. This is an indispensable album for big fans of melodic rock/glam/AOR, one of the best releases of 2010.

Bottomline : The Heat Goes On