Next December 1st Frontiers Music present the reissues of three classic albums from Denmark AOR / melodic rockers FATE ; “If Not For the Devil”, “Ghosts from the Past”, and “V” – all being made available digitally globally in remastered form, including previously unreleased tracks.
Overwhelmed by the unexpected response to the reissues of their Eighties albums, in 2006 Fate decided to give it another shot. Comeback album “V” was recorded and produced by Tommy Hansen – who also did Fate 1990’s “Scratch’n Sniff” – and was greeted as the perfect follow-up for the band’s fourth album, despite the gap of 16 years.
”V” was followed by ”Ghosts From the Past” (2011), including some line up changes but maintaining Fate’s melodic rocking delivery and a stupendous midtempo AOR tunes.
Now augmented with a previously unreleased track, ”Ghosts From the Past” 2023 remaster sounds fabulous.
The premise for ”Ghosts From the Past” was to bring back Fate’s melodious rock sound of the Eighties. And they have succeeded. The overall musical style recalls to one of the best Fate, 1990’s ‘Scratch ‘N Sniff’ album, basically thanks to the melodic and punchy guitar work by Torben Enevoldsen.
The extensive use of keyboards – a trademark of the band’s most glorious moments – is welcomed, and the band found a very good vocalist on Dagfinn Joensen which has a clean and tuneful voice reaching high notes easily with versatility.
The CD starts really well with typical the ’80s keyboard sounds of “Children Of the Night”, a catchy melodic rocker with a very good chorus. The really good keyboard lines brightens up the tune, but it’s clear from the beginning that what will drive the music on this album are the guitars. Enevoldsen has added a melodic yet strong sound to the band, with killer rhythm guitars and fine articulated solos.
“Miracle” is another assassin Euro Melodic number blended with ‘hard AOR’ mixing awesome keyboards with rockin’ guitars and again, a catchy chorus. “Seeds Of Terror” is a bit heavier and modern AOR rocker in a unmistakable Scandi style, while follower “Fear Of The Stranger” has a more dark / epic style.
There’s a nice melody on the semi-midtempo “At The End Of The Day”, with a synth / six string counterpoint and a style that reminds me Last Autumn’s Dream. Next, eighties AOR defines the simple but effective refrain of “All That I Want”. “Follow Your Heart” is a slower track, the almost mandatory ballad. Despite its nature still includes plenty of great guitar work. Nice one.
“Daddy’s Girl” is one of my favorites. This keyboard driven tune is truly faithful to Fate’s 80’s style, catchy and foot-tapping.
The rest of the material maintains a good level, being the melodic and modern “Moving On”, the anthemic “The Last Time” and the great keyboard infused “The Other Side” the best.
With “Ghosts From The Past” Fate returned in great form, delivering one of the best albums from their career. It’s a punchy, strong Melodic Hard Rock album spiced with classy AOR, melodious yet powerful.
Besides the solid songwriting what stands out on this album is the phenomenal guitar job of Torben Enevoldsen. But all the musicianship is truly good, and the massive use of keyboards enriches the sound all over.
Produced by the band and Thomas Pedersen at various studios in Denmark, “Ghosts From The Past” has a polished but sharp edge, now more crisp thanks to the fresh remaster.
HIGHLY Recommended
Tracklist:
01. Children Of The Night (2023 Remastered Version) (04:02)
02. Miracle (2023 Remastered Version) (04:20)
03. Seeds Of Terror (2023 Remastered Version) (04:27)
04. Fear Of The Stranger (2023 Remastered Version) (04:09)
05. At The End Of The Day (2023 Remastered Version) (04:46)
06. All That I Want (2023 Remastered Version) (04:15)
07. Follow Your Heart (2023 Remastered Version) (04:56)
08. Daddy's Girl (2023 Remastered Version) (03:46)
09. Moving On (2023 Remastered Version) (04:25)
10. Murder (2023 Remastered Version) (05:32)
11. The Last Time (2023 Remastered Version) (04:12)
12. I Believe In Rock 'N' Roll (2023 Remastered Version) (04:53)
13. The Other Side (2023 Remastered Version) (05:15)
14. All I Wanna Do (2023 Remastered Version) (04:49)
Fate – Ghosts From The Past (2023 Remastered Version) , Mp3+FLAC
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