Let the Reign Begin
Heaven’s Reign – Northern Lights is already a contender for a top-ten list of 2025. The debut album from Heaven’s Reign is one of those albums where you’d better pay attention and give it the respect it deserves because if this debut indicates the future of this band, we will be hearing more great things from them in the future!
Heaven’s Reign are a powerhouse of Classic Rock Energy and wear their inspiration of classic rock proudly on their sleeves.
The band features three former members of Rollin Thunder, Rik Cayton, Ian Lynam and Ste Birch. Ricky Moss from Faster Than Bulls, and lastly, Gaz Birch from Sketcher/Deep Cellar.
Heaven’s Reign delivers a stellar debut album with Northern Lights, a collection that showcases the band’s shared passion for 80s hard rock. Comprised of members from various regional bands, their collaboration has resulted in a remarkable output that feels like a compilation of the greatest hits from an undiscovered band.
Solid
Having already heard the first two singles, I expected a solid introduction, but the album’s quality took me aback. The opening track, “City Sights”, captivates with sirens, a driving bass line, and guitar sounds that evoke Harem Scarem vibes, leading into a chorus reminiscent of classic Journey. It’s already a contender for one of the year’s top ten albums, and it’s only February!
The momentum continues with the second track, “Here We Go Again”, a mid-tempo powerhouse blending blues and funk elements with impressive key changes. It hits hard and exits swiftly. Next up is “Fire in My Blood”, which, contrary to its title, maintains that mid-tempo feel, complementing the previous song beautifully. With gang vocals supporting lead singer Rik Cayton in the chorus, we’ve got three strong tracks in a row.
When “Born to Fly” started to play, I finally heard how closely Rik’s singing voice resembles that of Danny Vaughn and how this track could have been on early albums from Tyketto. “Born to Fly” features acoustic undertones, showcasing Rik’s exceptional vocal range. Playing this track for a friend, he too heard the similarities of the two singers.
Act II
The title track, “Northern Lights”, opens the album’s second half. Its soaring chorus embodies exactly what the sound of melodic hard rock should be. “Listen to Your Heart” plays next, and this track has an immediate impact, to say the least. With its anthemic choruses, it’s a stand-out track that could make this a track of the year from Melodic Rock bands.
“Bad Boys” carries through with a crunchy guitar tone and its in-your-face vocals. Second to last is the track “The Good Die Young”. Isn’t this one of the most used titles (or a slight variation of) in music in the last 15 years?! Regardless of the title, this song is strong and poignant and has its place on the album for sure.
To finish the album, Heaven’s Reign has given the listener another melodic rock earworm that leaves the listeners wanting more, and hopefully will just hit play again as soon as it’s over, and give this album another listen to appreciate all that you might not have heard the first go round.
Psychotic Thoughts
The only complaint I have about Northern Lights is the album length. We get ten great songs from the band, but the album’s total length is just a few seconds over 33 minutes. Maybe we could have used some more thought-out solos, intros or even some outros through the songs. Bringing the album closer to 45-50 minutes, I think, would have offered a much better arrangement and made it feel like much more of a healthy serving of some good music to digest.
This album is filled with melodic rock brilliance. If you’re a fan of bands like Tyketto, Whitesnake or even Journey, Northern Lights should be your next music purchase. Heaven’s Reign is a name you will be hearing on the lips of Melodic Rock fans everywhere soon, You don’t want to be left out in the cold.
Until Next Time…Peace!
Tracklist:
- City Sights
- Here We Go Again
- Fire In My Blood
- Lady of the Night
- Born to Fly
- Northern Lights
- Listen to Your Heart
- Bad Boys
- The Good Die Young
- Never Again
BUY: Store / Amazon.co.uk
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Email Me at Trevor “Psychoone” McD
