Glenn Williams
MUSIC WRITER IN JAPAN
ALBUM
H.E.R.O.
GHOST OF YOU
Sony Music Japan International
No band mixes genres as well as H.E.R.O., who have genuinely created a genre of their own. Through three successive albums, they have developed their mix of Metal, Rock and Synth-Pop into a sensory overload. On this, their fourth album, there has been a change in personnel. The original trio of Christopher Stierne (v, g), Anders Kierkegaard (d) and Soren Itenoff (g) were supplemented on their second and third albums by bassist Johan Wohlert; the band are now back to a three-piece, Soren having left in August 2022 and Johan becoming a full-time member. More of a substitution than a new member then and the great news is that everything remains, unchanged.
That said, the production and mixing are a bit more in-your-face and that makes it even more of a sensory overload - overwhelming to say the least. The contrast between the riffs that are so heavy and deep they could be measured on the Richter Scale and the vocals that are at times angelic could not be better. Add in the atmospheric keyboards behind you have a three-dimensional, aural experience. Their sound and song writing with the new(ish) line-up retain the same high standard they set themselves from Day 1 and in places, often exceeds. The melodies are catchy, the arrangements are sometimes intricate, sometimes straight but at no time do they ever go too far nor hold back for too long. Lyrically, it’s far from being a concept album but there is a theme running through it. There is a lot of soul searching with references to a past life, a present life and taking bold steps into the future, steps that the writer has to take his own responsibility for.
The Japanese release, as well as having the English four-panel insert, has an eight-page monochrome booklet with translated lyrics and liner notes by Masa Itoh and two bonus tracks. Both Gravity and Oxygen are on their last album, these versions being recorded at Japan’s Loud Park Festival in 2023. As powerful here as their studio counterparts, they show just how formidable this band is live.
Ghost Of You is both a step forward in sound and a smooth transition from the old to the new without any hiccups. In a time when people are looking for stability in the world, it’s good that us music fans can rely on our heroes to keep coming up with music that let’s us know there is some stability in the world, even with change. H.E.R.O.’s following in Japan is immense, probably their biggest outside of their native Denmark and this album will please everyone of their fans and no doubt, make some more. H.E.R.O Mk II will be around for a long time.
Track List
The Beginning
Razorsharp
Ghost Of You
Goddess
Halo
Chemicals
The Middle
Misalign
Euphoria
All Falls Down
End Of Us
Gravity *
Oxygen *
* Bonus track for Japan, live from Loud Park 2023
ALBUM
TUK SMITH &
THE RESTLESS HEARTS
ROGUE TO REDEMPTION
Sony Music Japan International
Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts debut album in 2022 breathed new life into the stale environment of what Rock ‘n’ Roll had become. They didn’t reboot it or reinvent it, they just came out and played it with the same attitude and commitment that the great Rockers had done since Elvis. It was a breath of fresh air in an environment of the genre that was rife with bands just hoping to hit the big time by copying their predecessors. TK&TRH kicked your ass with their debut, Ballad Of A Misspent Youth, and they’re kicking it harder with their second.
Tuk has been around a while. His first band, Biters, was formed in Atlanta in 2009 and did well on the live circuit but sales eluded them. After they disbanded in 2018, (actually, they went on hiatus), he put together The Restless Hearts in Nashville and comparing the two bands, it’s clear Tuk learnt a lot about which musicians suited his songs. On this album he once again has Matt ”Ponyboy” Curtis on bass and Nigel Dupree on drums, both adding significant weight to the tracks.
There are no extended intros or long guitar solos, just ten terrific Rock songs that run around the three-minutes mark and that live, will be a ‘1-2-3-4!’ count-in from the drummer and the BANG!, into the number. All the songs have good hooks and are catchy. Glorybound is lyrically something any despondent adolescent can relate to and it’s also a brilliant singalong that will remind you of Twisted Sister whilst Little Renegade has elements of Thin Lizzy and Cheap Trick without ever resorting to copying them. The bonus track - the reimagining of Little Renegade – is hauntingly beautiful with an acoustic guitar and gentle orchestra. Any great songwriter will tell you that if it works on an acoustic guitar, it’s a great song and the two versions display just how good a songwriter Tuk is - Tuk wrote all the songs by the way and also produced it.
The disc is housed in a standard jewel case and comes with the eight-page English booklet, a sixteen-page Japanese one and the band will have their first Japanese shows in September. On the strength of this album, expect a full blown, in-your-face, Rock ‘n’ Roll gig with lots of denim, sweaty hair and low-slung guitars that will leave you breathless. The foreigner in the audience with the blonde hair will be me. Come up and say hello and have a beer.
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Track List
Rogue To Redemption
Take The Long Way
Glorybound
End Of An Era
Blood On The Stage
Little Renegade
Still A Dreamer
Lost Boy
Down The Road
When The Party’s Over
Little Renegade (Reimagine)*
*Bonus track for Japanese edition