ARTIST: Sunstorm ALBUM: House Of Dreams LABEL: Frontiers SERIAL: FRCD 409 YEAR: 2009 CD REISSUE: SPONSOR: - COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: LINEUP: Joe Lynn Turner - vocals * Dennis Ward - bass, background vocals * Uwe Reitenauer, Thorsten Koehne - guitars * Gunter Werno - keyboards * Chris Schmidt - drums TRACK LISTING: 01 Divided * 02 Don't Give Up * 03 The Spirit Inside * 04 I Found Love * 05 Say You Will * 06 Gutters Of Gold * 07 Save A Place In Your Heart * 08 Forever Now * 09 Tears On The Pages * 10 House Of Dreams * 11 Walk On RATING:

---

Background
Speaking for myself, I've been waiting for this album for a long time, getting even more impatient about a month ago, after peeking into a few promoting samples. Considering the exceptional Sunstorm debut, (regarded by many as the top 2006 album), everything indicated that there were more goodies ahead. Today, I can safely say that my suspicions have been confirmed. Keeping the basic core of four musicians he collaborated with back in 2006 and introducing Gunter Werno on keyboards, Joe Lynn Turner digs up from his dusty old drawer a few melodic rock masterpieces that remind us of the golden 80s and bands such as Survivor, Journey and more. With the presence of Turner and Dennis Ward (who's once more the 'brains' and producer behind the album) and the additional songwriting contribution of some of the sub-genre's holy monsters such as Desmond Child, Russ Ballard, Paul Sabu, Jim Peterik along with Tom & James Martin (Sugartown, House of Lords, Khymera), the outcome is above spectacular. To put it simply, returning from his 2007 'Second Hand Life' personal album's promo tour, and with Serafino Perugino's (Frontiers) blessings, JLT had 'House Of Dreams' ready to take us into a dream journey - back in time. Let's indulge in this journey..

---

The Songs
The album is initially driven by an aura of melody and quality sound, inexplicably convincing us that we're dealing with an amazing record, include also the superior artwork gracing the album cover. It doesn't take us long to realize that JLT's amazing voice is more than well preserved, after more than thirty years of singing, theatrically developing each piece. A few hearings later, you realize that every stress, every syllable exists for a reason, whilst the distinguishing trait that made him who he is through Rock History is crystal clear; the ease he exhibits in high pitched notes and his aptitude in acing them without losing his smoothness is unique. At the same time, he expresses a classic rock feeling in harder edged compositions that take you far back in time. Guitars are elevated by the production, without ending up harmful for the rest of the album's components, while lead guitar parts are catchy, yet plain and simple.

First track, 'Divided', gives us a clue as to what's next. It's an incredible tune, where keyboards magically embrace guitars, whilst its exceptional chorus sticks with you at first spin. At this point, the listener is convinced that the rest will be equally fascinating.

The huge hooks continue with the uplifting and extremely catchy 'Don't Give Up', which makes you want to sing along, picturing yourself on the highest mountain reciting its lyrics with a view to embracing the sky fighting off inhibitions, phobias and the impossible. An unprecedented melody indeed. Melodic rock doesn't get any better these days. The excellent AOR and melodic hard rock amalgam that blends the old fashioned songwriting with the fresh sound, is dominant throughout the album while it's impressive how the record is flooded with uptempo tunes.

The third track of the album deserves a special eulogy. 'The Spirit Inside' is a melodic masterpiece that takes me back to a summer long gone, as Turner's voice, accompanied by a keyboard line is enchanting at verses, resulting in the necessary climax of the chorus, using high, yet velvet notes. One of the anthems that have the ability to fill you with an unutterable, illusional feeling which thrills your senses.

'Gutters Of Gold' and 'I Found Love' constitute the racy 'line of fire' type of song, being ideal for a concert and the most exhilarating pieces, nevertheless keeping the quality intact. The listener receives balanced hard rocking aggressiveness without missing out on that commercial radio feeling or harmony.

The most midtempo ballad like creations 'Say You Will' and 'Tears On The Pages' in the vein of Pride of Lions keep the pace down. The first one begins with a Queen like piano and escalates with Steve Perryesque vocals throughout the refrain. As for the second, a theatrical ballad that could easily be a part of an 80's all time classic movie OST, gives the credentials of Jim Peterik's songwriting capacity.

'Save A Place In Your Heart' is an AOR-ish/pomp version of the well known Paul Sabu anthem from the 1988 Only Child album. I can't really decide between the two, since they're both equally remarkable.

'Forever Now' is a classic AOR hit where keyboard elements play the most important role, replying to vocals in an unusual dialogue, while its chorus is over energetic and impressively radio oriented. Once more, a top - notch creation.

The self titled track 'House Of Dreams' is probably the highlight of the album. Clearly standing out, colorful and harmonically balanced with an outstanding arrangement, it takes you to an AOR paradise, conveying a nostalgic mood and memories of a romance never coming back. It's probably my favorite, along with 'The Spirit Inside', without implying that the rest are inferior. It's quite rare nowadays to come across lyrics that stir the emotions deeply, while binding with melody and expressive vocals to fulfill a common goal with complete success.

The album comes to end with an incredible version of 'Walk On', a song co-written by Joe Lynn Turner and Desmond Child for Jimmy Barnes' 1987 'Freight Train Heart' album. In my humble opinion, the current version is far superior to the original, as Turner's voice exposes further emotion than the slightly hoarse Barnes' vocals. A perfect closure for this release.

---

In Summary
Sunstorm's 'House Of Dreams' is a shiny diamond of the melodic rock scene of our era that most fans will cherish. It's truly a shame that Sunstorm are a studio project, thus not giving us the chance to enjoy this setlist in a concert. It's my personal view that it's going to be extremely difficult for this release to fail in being declared the top 2009 album, as it's almost perfect. It's been a whole four years since I've felt as excited about a new release, the previous being Gotthard's 'Lipservice', back in 2005. 'House Of Dreams' keeps playing in repeat mode on my Hi-Fi and mp3 player, while I've already ordered two additional copies to make presents for close friends. My only objection though is that Ward's production, although crystal clear with vocals leading, becomes flat at times. Dennis has already taken over a large amount of today's melodic rock releases that sometimes tend to sound all the same (Place Vendome, Khymera, Places of Power, etc). It would be much more preferable if there were more breaks to preserve the variation and keep the production from ending up sounding a bit predictable. A production like that is definitely not suitable for such a release, as it doesn't raise the material to its full potential. What is more, it would be better if the overuse of the double pedal bass drum was omitted. It's rendered unnecessary in a pure classy AOR environment such as this. However, I'm confident that the quality of 'House Of Dreams' will last through time; just like the debut has endured, taking into account that this release is even better than that! We're dealing with an exceptional melodic rock creation that's going to stick on top of my top list for a long time. If all of the above weren't enough to convince you, grab it and check it yourselves! As for me, it already has 'a place in my heart'.

---

Related Articles
Sunstorm - 2006 Sunstorm
Sunstorm - 2009 House Of Dreams

---

All written content on this website is copyrighted.
Copying of material without permission is not permitted.