On The Rise is a vehicle for Norwegian Terje Eide who does almost everything on the album - vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass and songwriting. Erik Engebretsen handles drumming duties, whilst Christian Wolff (guitars, keyboards and bass) and Eric Ragno (keyboards) are called in for a few tracks.

 

During the 80s Terje played in several bands and started his own. He then spent some time exploring a number of musical genres, before returning to his Melodic Rock roots in 2000 and releasing the On The Rise debut in 2003. Back then the band also featured Bennech Lyngboe who shared vocal duties. In 2009 Terje returns with "Dream Zone", which although under On The Rise moniker, is effectively a solo album.

 

And a good album it is. It contains melodic rock which rocks out in a restrained way. Think Survivor, Pride Of Lions, Aldo Nova etc. In musical terms it isn't breaking any new ground. But it is well executed, especially the vocal harmonies and the songwriting is above average. The package certainly does enough to keep us returning for another listen.