I must confess that Hard Rock is a genre that I don't revisit too often lately. But it is what got me into metal in the first place. I remember saving my food allowance from Engineer School by eating small sandwiches or cheap fast food so I could save my pennies and go to City Disk here in Geneva, one of the only place where you could pick any CD, and sit at a sort of music bar with good CD player equipment and excellent headphones before making a purchase. That's how my CD collection started, with me listening and purchasing most of my Magnum, Bon Jovi and Def Leppard collection. So when it's good Hard Rock I'm all ears :).

H.E.A.T is a band from Sweden, and they do something that cannot be described as particularly original, but they do it flawlessly, and that is 80's style Hard Rock. The ingredients are all there, great vocals, good musicianship, use of keyboards and even saxophone, played just right (In and Out of Trouble) to hit that nostalgia in me. Hand claps, Ho-Ho's and He-He's choirs, there are no stones unturned here. I fell in love with that album from the first listen, and it gets stronger with each repeats. Having so much music to listen to and review, it's a miracle I've managed to give this album 10+ spins. Each and every time is a trip down memory lane. The entire album feels like a best of of the 80's. There's no real surprise here in terms of originality and one cannot help but feel that H.E.A.T. is derivative. But when it's played so well why should we care ? I know I don't. Some of the synth sounding keyboard might even be cliché, but here we are two decades later and it still works like a charm. It confirms what I know for more than a decade now, I'm never getting out of metal... it's the only music style that speaks to me, makes me vibrate. Be it strong and fast Power Metal, aggressive or melancholic Melodeath or even simple Hard Rock, metal is the only sound for my soul, it's imprinted in me forever. Now back on Address The Nation, what it lacks in originality it more than doubles up on tightness and delivery. The singer is perfect for the job, the perfect Hard Rock voice for this style of music. There are some nice guitar melodies, riffs are simple but a perfect fit for the style, song writing is simple but efficient. In the end there isn't much more to say about this album. It flows effortlessly from beginning to end, it's highly melodic, played with heart and it sounds. Of course you'll get the obligatory ballads (The One and Only is a beautiful one) and songs that talk mostly about love. Old news right ? Maybe, but it feels good remembering how things once were (Jeez, I must be getting old). So if just for that warm feeling and a tremendous sense of nostalgia : I must thank the band for this fantastic record. I say keep them coming.

Don't expect H.E.A.T. to reinvent Hard Rock, but if you want to hear songs that makes you think you just travelled back in time in the glory days of the style, then you must not let this album pass you by. It might be mellow compared to what our ears are used to in the realm of metal lately, but I like mellow once in a while. A true heart warming release for me, and I know I'll dust off many CDs off my collection, CDs that deserve replays (and somehow have lost their place in this digital age) : Winger, Jeff Paris, Bonfire, Gary Moore, Dare, Kane Roberts and even Bon Jovi ! And this album made me want to do just that. I've been shifting away from the style over time, but Address The Nation brought me back to my musical roots and it did it beautifully. The best Hard Rock album I've heard in a long long time, and a true soundtrack of the 80's. I'll even go farther and saying that if any of you who reads the review have pointers to similar bands, please be vocal and point away :). Now if you'll excuse me, I have some dusting off to do... cheers !