(8/10) Two and a half years ago Nordic Union all of a sudden appeared from nowhere and delivered a debut that was great. It clearly showed that the historic competition between Denmark and Sweden should stay history since a partnership obviously can lead to something by far greater.
No less than Ronnie Atkins represents the Danish side and together with his Swedish brothers in mind, Erik Martensson and Magnus Ulfstedt, he created an excellent album back in 2016 and the sophomore longplayer isn’t less impressive.
The trio has a great sense for melodies. Songs like ‘Because of Us’ are catchy ones with Nordic Union fusing melodies and heaviness to a great total. Martensson is the riff-master of this outfit and it’s the hooks he embedded in these 11 songs adding the catchiness needed for this kind of music. Already while spinning the album for the first time you get addicted to the tracks on ‘Second Coming’. There is hardly a way to escape from the taking approach of these anthems.
Another success factor is Atkins slightly hoarse vocals, avoiding a sticking mainstream expression. His voice adds enough rough rock power to each of the songs to differentiate them from others. Even the half-ballad ‘Breathtaking’ is due to Atkins contribution more of a rock song than an average cliche tune. The same goes for ‘Die Together’, which is the second very soulful track on ‘Second Coming’.
‘Second Coming’ is an excellent continuation of what started in 2016. My review back then ended with: “These guys are far too good to just leave it with one album.” This statement is still valid: These guys are far too good to just leave it with two albums.
(8/10)
Tracklist:
- My Fear and My Faith
- Because of Us
- It Burns
- Walk Me Through the Fire
- New Life Begins
- The Final War
- Breathtaking
- Rock’s Still Rolling
- Die Together
- The Best Thing I Never Had
- Outrun You
Label: Frontiers Music
Genre: Melodic Rock
Release Date EU: November 9th, 2018
https://www.facebook.com/NordicUnionMusic/
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