RSS Feed


DALTON
Pit Stop

Frontiers (2014)
Rating: 9/10

It’s been a 20-year break for Swedish rockers Dalton, so I guess there’s no time like the present to return.

With AOR, hair metal, traditional metal, thrash metal blah blah blah seemingly as popular – but not as good – as it was back in the 80s, we’re now getting droves of bands imitating, reforming and paying homage, but thankfully Pit Stop is a case of the men showing the boys how melodic rock is done.

For me, the press release for this opus says it all, stating: “Together with Europe and Treat, for a few years in the late 80s, Dalton was a force to be reckoned with in Sweden. They enjoyed successful touring, teen media coverage, TV appearances and a string of radio hits. Even world stars such as Bon Jovi and Michael Bolton provided original songs to their two albums.”

Sadly, like so many of the most promising hard rock and heavy metal bands in the 80s, their path to success was halted by the grunge invasion and Dalton was to be no more. However, Pit Stop is living proof that things come in circles and boy are they making up for lost time. The quintet provides a sweet-as-sugar blend of hard rock and AOR with hints of bubblegum glam and lighter metal.

The line-up consists of Bosse Lindmark (lead vocals), Leif Westfahl (guitar / backing vocals), Anders Lindmark (bass / backing vocals), Mats Dahlberg (ex-Treat; drums / backing vocals) and Ola Lindström (keyboards / backing vocals), and the songs they’ve created are sure to live long in the memory and in my opinion somehow bridge a cool gap between the heroic, anthemic stadium rock of Def Leppard and the clever, nifty dreaminess of 80s hair metal and glitter-edged pomp of Enuff Z’Nuff.

Bosse Lindmark has an almost fluffy, yet rich voice which skirts playfully over the dreamy structures, coming to life one moment and leading the tracks on but the next floating like a haze. This brings to mind former Enuff Z’Nuff frontman Donnie Vie, especially on the stupendous ‘Don’t Tell Me Lies’ with its hooky chorus and sensual plod.

Elsewhere, there are a handful if not more tracks which immediately stand out even after just one listen, so as you can imagine, a few hours spent in the company of this album is going to get you addicted. ‘One Voice’ is another of those sprightly affairs; bouncing along at a mid-tempo pace and threaded by Anders Lindmark’s cool bass strut.

Another biggie is the sublime ‘Ready Or Not’ with its pulsating keyboard injection and solid drum jab courtesy of the insistent Mats Dahlberg whose kick gives the track that extra, much-needed ingredient, suggesting that this cut is going to be a glamtastic stomp, and yet lowers its tempo then ascends again casting stardust over the speakers.

It’s also downright impossible to ignore the driving ‘Something For The Pain’ with its fiery guitar tone and Bosse Lindmark’s demands of “Give me a doctor for my disease”, supplying an extra dose of oomph. And while it’s nigh on impossible to pin-point a favourite track, I just can’t escape the joyous throb of ‘Hey You’ and the stirring ballad ‘Follow Your Dreams’. But I dare anyone to delve into the 11-tracks on offer and find a flaw, because as it stands Pit Stop might well be the most essential purchase of the year when it comes to good ol’ fashioned but well-sugared melodic hard rock.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share