COLORSTONE – Into The Garden (2012)

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COLORSTONE is a new rocking band from Malmö, Sweden, which are releasing their self-financed debut "Into The Garden". A new band, but the musicians involved aren't newcomers at all. Fredrik Bergengren was one of the founder members of the AOR act Time Gallery, releasing two very good albums during the nineties (the self-titled one was recently re-issued and already presented here). Bergengren and his partners in Colorstone have recorded on over 50 CD's with various artists covering many genres, so expect quality musicianship here.

"Into The Garden" is inspired in the Classic Hard Rock style of the '80s with some late seventies hints, wrapped by a modern melodious sound and updated production.
Fredrik Bergengren's classy guitar tone drive the tunes supported by a fat bass and a crispy sounding drumming, with the use of abundant percussion.
Johan Dahlström vocals are clear and intense, sometimes rough, sometimes melodic, with a wide range reaching high notes when needed.

We can find varied stylings on the CD, as the groovy opener "Into The Garden Of Destruction", followed by catchy rhythm of the guitar driven "Silverspoon" and then the heavy-bluesy "Intoxicated" which adds a cool harmonica.
One of my favorites is the retro melodic rocker "Show Me All The Way" where Dahlström's passionate vocals sounds as a young Bono.
"Flowing" is one of the most interesting tracks. Starts slowly with very well arranged layers of guitars and whispering vocals, and after the tasteful middle six-tring solo the song increases the tempo. A lot of class on this one.
"One Of A Kind" rocks hard in a vintage style with fine riffing and powerful vocals, "Find Myself" mixes some clean / distorted guitars for good effect, while the melodic "Truly Mine" adds some nineties sounds ala Dan Reed Network.
The semi-midtempo "How Do You Feel" is a rocker with good harmonies, "To Be Someone" has more melodic hard rock orientation in the vein of the recent Bad Habit, while "Soul Generator" adds some hard bluesy touches in the Richie Kotzen style. "Sometimes Down Is The Only Way Up" is an acoustic affair with a warm ambience.

"Into The Garden" is a solid rockin' album with very good musicianship, impeccably performed and arranged.
What most I like about this album is the crispy sound, I mean sonically, as all the instruments truly comes brilliant out of the speakers. This kind of music usually is recorded a bit muddy to provide roughness and edge, but Colortone opts for a vivid delivery which enhances the melodies.
The only drawback of "Into The Garden" is its length. Sure, it's a self-released album and the band decided to full-fill the CD capacity with all the music possible. Bad move IMHO, specially being the last tracks pretty weak, far from the quality of the previous ones. Ending the album at track 12 would have made this a much better rounded disc.
"Into The Garden" is a good classy Hard Rock album with some Melodic Rock moments, spiced with the characteristic Swedish sound that has become so popular these days.
Only available on digital format at the moment, but seems it will be pressed on physical CD soon.

01 - Into The Garden Of Destruction
02 - Silverspoon
03 - Intoxicated
04 - Show Me All The Way
05 - Flowing
06 - One Of A Kind
07 - Find Myself
08 - Truly Mine
09 - How Do You Feel
10 - To Be Someone
11 - Soul Generator
12 - Sometimes Down Is The Only Way Up
13 - Good Life
14 - Someone Else
15 - Tonight's The Night
16 - The Secret
17 - Solitude Waiting

Fredrik Bergengren (ex Time Gallery, Mikael Wiehe & Tricky Track):
Guitars, Keyboards & Backing Vocals
Johan Dahlström (ex Silver Mountain):
Lead & Backing Vocals
Olle Nilsson (ex Tricky Track):
Drums, Percussion & Backing Vocals
Jonas Sandquist (ex Wasteland):
Bass, Keyboards & Backing Vocals

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