Kev Rowland When Winter Parade broke up after two albums, bassist PB Riise joined forces with guitarist Tore Meli to form a new group, and Snowfall is the result of that. Although they initially started with a local singer, Lee Small (Shy/Phenomena) became available and the guys soon started to work well together as a group. The line-up was completed with the addition of ex-Coldspell drummer Perra Johnson. In melodic rock it is fair to say that the vocals are incredibly important, yet for some reason many singers have a great range but not much breadth. That is not an issue with Lee who is able to bring together the depth and emotion of someone like David Coverdale with the range of Glenn Hughes and the commerciality of Joe Lynn Turner. This already sets the band apart from many of their contemporaries, but added to that are some great songs with hooks and choruses to die for. Just play “Jack of Diamonds” once and by the end you will be singing along.

In many ways this doesn’t feel as if it is an album from today as this could easily be a long lost classic from the Eighties when the term ‘melodic rock’ wasn’t seen as such a bad thing. Yes, of course they have the obligatory power ballad in “Wolf’s Lair” but this really is a band that is much more than the one-dimensional sugar-coated effigies that often inhabit these waters. Songs such as “Alexandria” just ooze class and swagger, with a rooting in blues based hard rock combined with AOR that yet again has an anthemic chorus. If you enjoy band such as Giant, Firehouse and ‘1987’ era Whitesnake (as opposed to my personal favourite, the blues rock years) then this is something you need to investigate further. www.snowfallcoldsilence.com

Time Signature Stampede...

Genre: melodic hard rock

Yes, the more melodic and pop-induced territory of the hard rock landscape can definitely be a nightmare to listen to, simply because of the focus on commercialism and because releases within this aspect of the hard rock continuum tend to be very cheesy. But, melodic hard rock may indeed also be very tasty and enjoyable, and Snowfall's "Cold Silence" belongs to the enjoyable-category.

Drawing on melodic hard rock with a good dose of AOR, Snowfall have created a collection of very well put together and catchy hard rock tracks, which should appeal to most fans of the harder end of the AOR-spectrum.

'Jack of Diamonds' features several nice riffs and nice guitar details - including some blazing solos and funky grooves akin to what Aerosmith would make back when they didn't suck. Even a more keyboard-driven track, like 'I Won't Be lonely Anymore' is immensely enjoyable for what it is, and 'House of Prayer' is nicely groovy, while 'Alexandria' features some heavy passages.

What makes this album so enjoyable is the musicianship. The rhythm section is rock solid, and Tore Meli's guitar solos are no less than impressive. Lee Small's voice is a bit bluesy and has lots of soul (think Matt Alfonzetti meets Loe Lynn Turner), and he delivers the many catchy choruses perfectly.

Fans of tasteful and sophisticated melodic hard rock are bound to love Snowfall's "Cold Silence".