ELEVENER – When Kaleidoscopes Collide

Imagine that the 90s never existed. Picture yourself waking up back in the 80s when AOR and Melodic Metal still topped the charts all over the world. There is a time machine that can make this come true! This very time machine is the debut record of Swedish AOR band Elevener entitled When Kaleidoscopes Collide. Elevener takes us on a nostalgic trip back to the mid 80s, back to the likes of Journey, Asia, Toto and Survivor. The group was formed by the two multi-talents Johan Berquist and Andreas Broden who wanted to bring back the decade of great music which they grew up listening to.

From the very beginning notes of the opener “This Heart Of Mine” you know this will be pure awesome Melodic Rock. It could easily have been a song heading out of a Journey or Survivor record during their 80s époque. The keyboard chords are quite typical for the bands that are mentioned and if it wasn’t for the vocals it could accidentally be recognized as a song from one of those bands. It’s a great opener for sure, featuring great hooks and mind-sticking melodies. The chorus is just fantastic, it’s absolutely impossible to forget it after listening. There’s no doubt about it, this is the number one song from the album. Check it out!

Third song heading out of this record is another more up tempo song called “Shooting Star”. Again they toss out great hook-lines and melodies. Twin guitars open up for the entire band and the music drives its way forward gurgling with an energetic sound. It is so delightful listening to the drumming of Andreas Broden which is explosive, accurate and tight. He keeps it simple and lets it groove instead of overloading it with fills and intricate patterns. It would definitely be a nightmare putting one of those Progressive Metal drummers into this band, the generation of drummers that never can keep it simple but have to do everything spiced-up.

Coming into the next song we’re presented with the first power ballad of this record; “I Still Remember”. It starts out with moody keyboards before it’s punched up by the rest of the band. Again they manage to create a sensational chorus that fills you with this nostalgic feeling. Further out in the album there’s another fantastic power ballad entitled “All Of My Life”. There’s not much to say that hasn’t already been said about the other tunes. Guess what, Elevener tosses you another chimerical chorus that stays within your head for days.

What brings this record down, apart from the tunes that seem to become a little too similar to each other is the voice of vocalist Johan Berquist. He sounds like he has caught a very nasty cold or like he sings inside of himself. What’s certain is that it is not a joy listening to, it just becomes annoying during the hour long record. That is the first impression after listening to this record, but somehow you’ll get used to him after listening to the album several times. He disappears out of your head and you can concentrate about enjoying everything that the music has to offer instead.

The lyrics are off course, very basic but that’s not an unfamiliar thing in AOR. It seems like every song is about lost love, broken hearts and so on. It’s simple poetry but that is not necessarily negative. Making it simple is the key to the catchy choruses which stick in your mind for a long time and Elevener certainly manage to do that. Sure, a fantastic record, packed with great melodies, catchy hooks and a chimerical production. This is pure 80s, Elevener surely succeeded in their mission!

1. This Heart Of Mine
2. Say If You Want
3. Shooting Star
4. I Still Remember
5. A Thousand Girls
6. All I Did
7. Her Eyes
8. All Of My Life
9. Waking Up Without You
10. Could It Be You
11. There She Goes

Johan Bergquist – vocals, keyboards and bass guitar
Andreas Broden – guitars and drums.