Token is a Swedish five piece playing well produced and polished melodic hard rock. With such fine releases by bands like Humanimal, Crystal Ball, Frontline, and Harem Scarem this year, can Token compare? I do think this release falls somewhat short of those I just mentioned, but this album would certainly make a nice addition to any melodic hard rock collection.

Of the twelve total tracks, Token deliver a pretty standard mix between hard rocking songs, mid tempo songs, and ballads (three). The production is top notch and I have nothing but good things to say about the sound quality. Each component of the sound is at the right level with a very polished, crystal clear quality. The use of keyboards is enough to give the music a nice atmosphere but manages not to saturate the songs or leave the guitars in the background. The riffs stay in the forefront of the sound exactly where they belong.

The vocals of HB Anderson are very well suited for melodic hard rock. He has a very emotional and melodic delivery with a slight gritty quality. He's not too far from Jeff Scott Soto in places except for the slight accent. Johann Sjoberg provides a healthy dose of well done guitar solos (check out Last To Know for a killer solo!) and riffing although I can help but think how awesome these solos might have sounded had they been dual solos. The rhythm section, anchored by Pontus Ageryd on the drum kit, is tight and consistent throughout the album. The music is very well executed and I've already made mention of the fantastic production.

Although the sound is so crisp and the musical talent so evident, I still feel something is missing when I finish listening to this album. While each song is melodic in nature, the melodies aren't overly catchy or memorable. At the end of the album, it is hard to look back over the track listing and hum any of the songs to yourself. While each of the songs is good and there is not filler material to speak of, there isn't a single song that immediately imbeds within your mind and demands to be played over and over again. If Token can cook up some addictive melodies in time for their next album, they might move up to join the ranks of PC69, Humanimal, Harem Scarem, and Crystal Ball amongst the leaders in the melodic hard rock/metal genre. They certainly have the critical ingredients of excellent production and musicianship nailed down, but the melodies are just a bit lacking for this style of music which is so dependent on strong and memorable melodies. Tomorrowland is certainly a good album that will please melodic hard rock fans, but they face stiff competition this year from the unusually high number of melodic hard rock gems that have been released this year.