ANDRE ANDERSEN – Black On Black

Oh yes, more candy for the fans of Danish progsters Royal Hunt. Andersen, the main composer behind that band, is truly in a very fertile period in his life. I was going to state that Andre saves his best songs for Royal Hunt, but listening to this record once again I realize it’s not really far from the quality he delivers with that band. This could very well have been a Royal Hunt record, and fans would have no reason to complain about change of style or songwriting. The singers are Kenny Lubcke, whom I believe also is one of the backing singers for Royal Hunt, and the well known Ian Parry. Both great singers indeed, although John West can not be matched.

Some of the stuff here (especially the opener “Coming Home”) is just as hard and fast as “Total Recall” from the Royal’s last album, my favorite track by the way, and others songs are just as melodic as anything off the last two-three Hunt discs. Andre, apart from handling his main instrument, the keyboards, also play bass and guitars, though the guitar solos are done by Rene Rieland. In many ways, this is more a solo album than his first, “Changing Skin”, which had all the other members of Royal Hunt participating, but still, it’s just yet another album in the same style, with other people appearing. I don’t mind really. Bottom line, the album is unique in the same way as that other band which I am sick and tired of mentioning by now, and it’s by all means a great one.