Volster – Perfect Storm
Volster
Perfect Storm
Released 20th April 2018
Melodic Hard Rock
Released via ROAR Rock of Angels Records
‘Perfect Storm’ is debut album from the Swedish melodic hard rock band Volster. The band name dates back to the mid-90s when Ulf Andersson and Henrik Lundberg (former members of Masquerade) recorded a demo titled ‘Volster’. Several years later, in 2013 they decided to form a band under that name. Their style has been summed up by their bassist as “…melodic hard rock as it’s supposed to be.”
Melodic is the keyword here. This album is definitely all about melody. The title track is a good example of modern-sounding hard rock – good guitar harmonies and a skillfully executed chorus. Then other influences shine through with tracks including Heaven or Hell featuring some groove-style bass guitar structures. That particular song reminded me of Black Label Society for some reason. Speaking of groove; the slower, more ballad-like Babylon is packed with bluesy guitar riffs giving it a considerably darker tone compared to many of the other songs on here. The vocals and the overall style on Games of War made me think of Ozzy Osbourne.
I’m not going to bother going through every track even if there would be good things to say about all of them. Volster seem to happily borrow from a variety of both metal and hard rock styles. There are elements of everything from classic hard rock, glam/sleaze rock to melodic heavy metal and even groove metal. Surprisingly enough it all works well as a whole.
In summary, ‘Perfect Storm’ shows a band who wear their influences on their sleeves; acknowledging and in some ways paying homage to their past, but also moving forward and embracing a more modern style. What started as a short demo in the 1990s is now a fully fledged beast, alive and ready to rock in 2018.
4/5
Iza Raittila
Valkyrian Music 
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