The Revenge

While The Battle was just white hot instant satisfaction, The Revenge may in fact (as they say) be best served cold. By that I mean when I heard their first album, I was completely blown away. This album doesn't have that quality. Not because it's not good (it's definitely a contender for album of the year) but initially this one is more ... subdued. Not in a bad way, it's just a more subtle, understated use of the abundance of talent assembled here. It's one of those cds that's better the second time you hear it, and gets better with each listen. I'm sure Magnus could have churned out a carbon copy of their first success, (and nobody would have been dissapointed by that) but instead of repeating that formula, he has chosen to expand and build on that sound. Clearly one of the best song writers out there, Karlsson has the Midas touch and he has taken full advantage of the enormous vocal potential at his disposal with Jorn and Russell. The powerhouse duo, of course, rose to the challenge, to turn in another amazing pair of performances. So when you add Ward's mixing expertise, it was just the icing on the cake. --Scott