Wow ! Wow! Wow!
The great AOR singer Kent Hilli from Perfect Plan, Giant, and Restless Spirit is here with his second solo album Nothing Left To Lose. Kent has released a lot of music with different bands and solo during the last five years and is now a well-known name in the melodic rock/ AOR business and has got a lot of fans all over the world.
The album starts with a smashing good song “Too Young” with a great melody and catchy chorus which reminds me a lot of the best from Survivor with Jimi Jamison (R.I.P). Followed by the single “Nothing Left To Lose“.
Kent‘s vocals on this album are his best work to date I think. It has both emotion, soul, and a warmth that I have not heard before. The musicians are also making a great-sounding album with the guitarist Jimmy Westerlund from the Finnish band One Desire. On bass, we find Ulrick Lönnqvist who lays out pumping bass tracks. The production is heavy and the sound is powerful that you don’t always get on albums from Frontiers Records. It sounds amazing.
Back to the songs, “Could This Be Love” is the third song and another perfect AOR song. “A Fool To Believe” is a masterpiece of great harmony vocals, a great chorus and has the right heaviness to it from the guitars with a cool guitar solo.
We have a slower but great song in “Every Time We Say Goodbye” before it gets heavier again in “Stronger” with another stellar solo from Jimmy Westerlund.
“Does He Love Like Me” could be from a late 80s or early 90s movie soundtrack.
One of the best songs comes next, “Start It All Over“. It sounds like my favourite era from Survivor and Kent sings great!
“Heard It All Before” sounds more like his main band Perfect Plan with a bluesier feel to it. Heavy sounding and great solo again. “Saving Us” is an uptempo AOR song with a pounding drive and a great chorus.
And so we come to the end and the song “Only Dreaming” which is an atmospheric ballad with stellar singing from Kent. Here he shows his full register as a singer and a great end to the album.
Wow, that was a ride! An absolutely stellar album with no fillers, just killers! Great songs, great musicians, and great production. This is a must for fans of late Jimi Jamison and Survivor and beyond. I love the thick and heavy sound they have created together with Jimmy Westerlund from One Desire.
Standout tracks for me are “Too Young“, “Nothing Left To Lose“, “Could This Be Love“, “A Fool To Believe” and “Start It All Over” but the rest are awesome too.
Thanks, Kent Hilli for this uplifting album, and best of luck with your career! Time to get it another spin 🙂.
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