CD´s Reviews
Release Date: October 20th, 2006
Line Up: Jeff Scott Soto - Vocals; Marcel Jacob - Guitars, Bass; Fredrik Åkesson - Guitars; Jamie Borger - Drums, Percussion
Talisman has been a recognized band in the melodic and A.O.R. rock scene for years now and that will still remain the same after the release of this '7' record.
The surprising elements of their first two albums ('Talisman' from 1990) and 'Genesis' from 1993) are a bit gone, but also on their seventh (how surprising…) studio album Talisman delivers top quality. Vocalist Jeff Scott Soto over the years has been involved in a lot of different projects/band, but has now been chosen as the new vocalist of American band Journey and I'm really curious whether this will not have disastrous consequences for Talisman.
The expected European tour is as a result of Jeff's involvement with Journey already cancelled so that doesn't promise too many good things.
As said, on this '7' album we find no surprises, but a very enjoyable mix of mainly catchy and radio-friendly rockers and ballads, with a very prominent role for vocalist Jeff Scott Soto and guitar player Fredrik Åkesson. In a few tracks like for instance 'Succumb 2 My Desire' Jeff's funky roots also shine through, but this never becomes real disturbing.
The level is quite high and continuous and this means that there are no real highlights or lowlights to be found on the album. If you could appreciate the other records of Talisman, then I'm pretty sure that you can expand your collection with their latest effort as well.