Time Signature We must fight...

Genre: melodic hard rock

Although "Final Warning" is the first release under the moniker of Oxygen, this band has actually released a couple of releases in Japan under their original name Niva (named after Tony Niva, the band's vocalist).

The music that the listener is treated to on "Final Warning" - and many of the tracks are also feature on Niva's "Gold from the Future" from 2011 - is all out melodic hard rock with loads of mass appeal, 80s style, and more than just a slihgt influence from AOR. Featuring melodic choruses, blazing gutiar solos, 80s style keyboards and strong vocals from Tony Niva, "Final Warning" should appeal to any fan of 80s AOR hard rock along the lines of Foreigner, Toto, Journey, and - more recently - Work of Art and XorigiN.

One of the things that I like about AOR-tinged hard rock in general, which also applies to this release, is that the music is catchy and compelling and, in contrast with a lot of other hard rock and heavy metal music, it has a certain lightheartedness to it that makes it come across as being uplifting and should thus be able to bring the grumpiest of grumpy assholes into a good mod. Of course, the sublime musicianship also help to improve one's mood.

Fans of melodic hard rock and AOR should definitely check out this album which is simply just a layer cake of catchy and suh-weet melodic hard rock tunes.