VELVET THUNDER

The Swedish melodic symphonic rock band return with album number four being Epedition One which very much continues the superior female fronted, delicious metal as seen on all their earlier works.

Formed in 2015, their 2017 debut Heroes In Time marked them out as something special and garnered rave reviews so it was a surprise when the original vocalist Emma Bensing left soon afterwards but Metalite moved quickly and replaced her with the equally talented and prodigious Erica Ohlsson and she immediately cemented her place with stunning performances on Biomechanicals in 2019 and A Virtual World in 2021.

Now, if we know anything about Metalite it is that the gang love a concept album with Expedition One being another story themed concept and an ambitious depiction of life on our ruined planet in the year 2055 leading to plans to leave and relocate to the stars. This sounds like a theme that the band could return to many times over but if complex story lines are not your thing then just settle back and let the music wash over you in a wave of symphonic joy.

The band specialises in immediately hitting melodic/symphonic metal as played by the likes of Delain, Sirenia, Within Temptation and early The Gathering with, obviously, the female vocals being one of the leading reasons for the comparisons. The line-up remains constant with twin guitarists Edwin Premberg and Robert Örnesved laying down a series of great riffs and the usual neat metal edged solos plus Lea Larsson on drums and Robert Majd on bass giving a real majestic might to the proceedings. Pride of place though goes to Erica Ohlsson for her thrilling vocal delivery which is insistent, energetic and keeps you fully engaged as she breathes life and vitality into each new song. The music is tight, fast-paced, anthemic and epic and with 16 songs giving almost 70-minutes of music then you get real value for your money with the story fairly racing along as the band concentrate on offering up short, sharp slices of symphonic metal without any need for extended or overblown material.

As previously, there is a discernible pop flavoured back beat that gets your toes tapping and the desire to get up and strut your funky stuff is very strong indeed! As such, this is genre crossing rock with enough melody and hooks to satisfy just about any music fan. The name may be Metalite but there is nothing lite about the music they serve up for our pleasure!

Expedition One is released on 19 January 2024 via AFM Records and is available for pre-order now