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ANGELICA
Thrive
Frontiers

Some may know Angelica Rylin as the vocalist for the Swedish symphonic rock band MURDER OF MY SWEET. I personally had never heard of her or MoMS so I did my research and found that Ms. Rylin is inspired by female vocalists like Robin Beck and Ann Wilson (HEART). Rylin has always wanted to record a melodic rock album and with Serafino Perugino’s assistance she did just that, her first solo album Thrive.

Serafino dipped his hand into the Frontiers stable and pulled out Harry Hess, Robert Sall, Alessandro Del Vecchio and Anders Wigelius as song writers for the album. Not to mention the guitar wizards including Jesper Stromblad (IN FLAMES), Magnus Karlsson (PRIMAL FEAR) and Per Berquist (SMASH INTO PIECES). With this talent behind her and her strong soaring voice and the production skills of fellow MoMS band mate and drummer Daniel Flowers one would think that this would be a strong album that would soar to the skies. The takeoff was definitely strong; however, the repetitiveness of the sound from song to song made it somewhat boring for me, the songs somewhat blended together.

I suppose one of the best things about this CD is the fact that Angelica achieved her goal of creating an AOR melodic rock album instead of making a third MURDER OF MY SWEET album.

Don’t get me wrong there are some rockers on the CD; "Breaking My Heart", "I Am Strong", "Riding Out the Storm" and "You Will Never Win", all of which have that melodic groove. Some of the songs on the CD are anthem/ballad types; "Can't Stop Love" and "Losers In Paradise", these are both examples of how Rylin can go from subtle to soaring in her voice with effortless ease.

I would have to say that if I had to pick the best song on the CD I would have to go with "This Kiss Is Just For You". Rylin’s vocals shine, the tune is catchy and the musicianship is strong.

3.0 Out Of 5.0