Blackout

Personnel: Torkjell Rod (vocals); Thomas Tofthagen, Arve "Ice Dale" Isdal (guitar); Kato Ådland (keyboards, background vocals); Kjetil Greve (drums).
Recording information: Fort Knox, Bergen, Norway.
Photographer: Bent Rene Synnevag.
The sixth go-around for the Norwegian hard rockers and Twin Peaks devotees, Blackout delivers another solid set of neo-classic rock confections that borrow happily from stalwart radio heavies like Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, and Van Halen. More NWOBHM than hair metal, the 12-track set takes itself just seriously enough to connect, but never tries to pretend to be anything other than a love letter to the 1970s, which it manages to do with significant aplomb, despite the fact that the band has connections to a host of extreme metal outfits, including Enslaved and Gorgoroth. Iron Maiden are evoked right out of the gate on the explosive "This Is War," a nearly six-and-a-half-minute romp through guitarmony-leaden killing fields that sounds like a lost cut from the Piece of Mind sessions. Thin Lizzy loom large over the amiable and heartfelt "This One," a nearly perfect windows-open pop gem that goes down easier than "Whiskey in the Jar," while drummer Kjetil Greve gets his Alex Van Halen rototom fix on the "Hot for Teacher"-inspired "Light Your Way." Outlier "Satellite" hits a bit of a sour note, though it may be more than a little tongue-in-cheek with its cock-rock posturing, gated drums, and treacly synths -- it really does sound like something that would have accompanied a Rocky Balboa training montage -- but overall, Blackout remains affable and interesting enough throughout its 51-minute running time to warrant more than a cursory spin. ~ James Christopher Monger