After the departure of frontman Andi Deris comes the installment of British native David Readman. By now he has sang on two highly lackluster albums but it is with this that Pink Cream 69 comes roaring back. Change, despite two really extraordinary songs was a horrible failure, and Food For Thought while a step up in quality, is not even close to being in the same league as this monster of a rock cd. Electrified is an entirely new era for the band. The Deris years had a large amount of party rock elements thrown in the lyrical blender while Change and Food For Thought were attempts at modern rock. Electrified is none of those two. Instead it is a blend of terrific melodies, the rich soulful voice of David Readman, truly great riffs for melodic rock, and emotion packed songs. I must also say, this is the album that made me appreciate melodic rock. Before hearing this style of music I had previously thought that all hard rock was glitter cock glam and when I popped this in and heard Shame my jaw hit the floor and I fell in love with this genre.

Electrifed has everything that you want in not only a melodic rock cd, but a wonderful cd in general. Shame and Stranger in Time are both midtempo pieces with the latter having an almost groove like feel mixed in with its heavy and hard hitting guitar riff. Speaking of the guitars, Alfred Koffler is a master at creating memorable melodies, recognizable riffs, and soaring solos, just listen to the intro to this song if you don’t believe me. Shame is pure rock perfection, the harmonics throughout the verses, the upbeat drumming and the throbbing bass line combine with David Readman’s voice for a pure head nodding, hummable track that still today is one of my favorite Pink Cream 69 songs. Break the Silence and Burn Your Soul are two tracks that are in the same vein stylistically. Both are a bit more faster paced than the rest of the album (excepting Over the Fire) and both are similar in “feel”. They are definitely placed for pure rocking out madness and each are wrapped tightly with multiple hooks, whether they are in terms of a vocal line, a guitar harmony, or a blazing guitar solo. The fun party rock anthem Electrified is the light hearted song of the album, with its silly lyrics and the electronic introduction. Despite the fun factor however Alfred again delivers a great guitar solo, and the song climaxes in huge fashion with multiple vocal tracks (even including a sample from the computer game Duke Nukem 3d). An almost Power Metal penned tune, Over the Fire seems like it was lifted off a Gamma Ray album. Blazingly fast and urgent, the similarities don’t end there as Ralf Scheepers makes an appearance as well as D.C. Cooper. I guess Cooper felt like he had to repay the band as they all played on his solo cd. A surprise, but a delightful one.

Losing My Faith and Higher Kind of Life are different than the rest of the album in that they are slow to midpaced and sound more modern, for lack of a better word, than the rest of the album. Higher Kind of Life has a definite modern feel in the delivery of the vocals and the distorted singing after the solo also adds to this as well. Despite the fact that I could hear these tunes on the radio, I still love them, I think that one of Alfreds best riffs is used for Higher Kind of Life anyway. The last quarter of the cd is taken up by three ballads and one half ballad. Out of the three, Gone Again, Rocket Ride, and Always Love You, I prefer Gone Again the most. Ninety percent of this is just piano and David and he delivers the goods. Instead of being a sappy boring tepid song, Gone Again is a tear jerker, especially the lyrics, I’m sure you’ve been in this situation before. A fitting close to this album for many people, although the version I have has the bonus track Always Love You, but after the emotional Gone Again, this just doesn’t seem like it’s in the right place. Gone Again is definitely the perfect song to close this masterpiece with.

As you can tell, I hold Electrified in high regard. From top to bottom there are no weak spots, no duds, and every track is a pleasure to hear. In my personal opinion, I say that this is definitely the band’s best release so far, although Sonic Dynamite comes very close. I advise fans of Melodic Hard Rock and metal in general to pick this up.