Jaded Heart have been around since 1990 when  the band was formed by Michael Bormann (ex-Bonfire) and his brother Dirk. The band released 5 albums before Michael Bormann decided to leave. He was replaced for the 2005 album, 'Hellva Time' by Johan Fahlberg (ex-Scudiero).

 

The last time I checked out Jaded Heart was back in 1999 for their fourth album. Back then they were playing melodic hard rock and when, not being aware of the changes, other than that Michael Bormann had departed, I first listened to this latest album, it seemed that I was listening to a different band.

 

On their previous album with this current lineup, 'Sinister Mind", and this new one, the band have switched to melodic power metal and are sporting a heavier sound. I assume that this can be traced to the arrival of Peter Ostros on guitar in the period between 'Hellva Time' and 'Sinister Mind'. The first proper track, 'Love is the Killer', is an uptempo track that is designed to get the blood pumpin' early on and it does so, but this romp is a bit of a shock if like me you are expecting something more melodic. Maybe song titles such as 'Blood Stained Lies', 'Hell Just Arrived', 'Psycho Kiss' and 'Exterminated' should have given me a clue!

 

The next track, 'Fly Away', is thankfully more typical of what is on offer here. A strong feature of this track, and indeed most of the other tracks, is a good chorus and background vocals. The music on this album is well executed by these seasoned musicians and the production is toP notch. The main issue I have is that on some tracks, 'Freedom Call' and 'Rising' being prime examples, the main body of the songs are a bit non-descript.

 

Proving that the shift in musical direction isn't an issue for me, 'Blood Stained Lies' which reminded me of Stratovarius, proved to be one the highlights. While I'm trying to describe the style, tracks like closer 'Exterminated'  make it clear why a tour with Primal Fear is in progress at the moment. Unlike their previous album, a ballad in the form of 'One Life One Death', is included.

 

The band have clearly adjusted their style to match the desires of the new personnel and in doing so have continued the trend of their last couple of albums and produced an album of well executed melodic power metal that will satisfy existing fans. However, next time out I would like to see them pay more attention in the song writing department to help them expand their fan base.