After their successful appearance at the last edition of the Rock Imperium festival in Cartagena, HEAT returned to the Region of Murcia this Wednesday to bring to the capital the tour to present their latest work, ‘Force Majeure’, and its complementary EP ‘Extra Force’. ‘. The proximity of the dates was not a problem for filling the Garaje Beat Club room, which posted the ‘sold out’ sign weeks before the event. Judging by the conversations that could be heard among the attendees who were waiting in line for hours before the doors opened, there were quite a few who decided to repeat. The most classic melodic hard rock is a genre in danger of extinction and few young bands have known how to update its essence as well as this Swedish quintet, so their stop in Murcia, despite being during the week, was an offer so difficult to refuse. like those of Don Corleone.
In general, a change of singer is a traumatic process for any band, but sometimes it is an opportunity to change scene or, in the case of HEAT, return to the origins. And after the departure of singer Erik Grönwall, currently in charge of Skid Row – with whom they curiously shared the bill at the Cartagena festival – the Swedish hard rock band surprised by recovering Kenny Leckremo. The one who was his original voice left the group in 2010 due to health problems that, judging by his formidable state of form, seem to be completely overcome.
Starting with his enviable blonde hair, it is difficult not to fall in love with the singer, who was clearly the star of the night. Axl Rose would give his all – or maybe not – to possess his seemingly inexhaustible aerobic capacity, without losing a bit of his voice in the process. And that’s another one. The decade or so that he has been away from HEAT has been great for Leckremo, who has significantly refined his technique. This became especially evident in the songs recovered from the band’s first two albums, which were the ones he recorded before his departure. ‘Cry’ or ‘Beg, Beg, Beg’ sounded much rounder and more energetic than the studio version recorded by his inexperienced version in his early twenties. Vocal abilities that are even more commendable when you see the guy move around the stage, spinning like a whirlwind, jumping and twisting like the girl from ‘The Exorcist’.
The legacy of his replacement, with a more ragged and American style, was not an impediment for Leckremo to bring to his homeland classics from the band’s second stage, such as ‘Dangerous Ground’ or ‘Rock Your Body’, which sounded so electric as its title promises. As for their most recent production, HEAT did not take any chances and released their three singles: ‘Demon Eyes’, the dizzying guitar display with which they opened the concert, ‘Back to the Rhythm’ and ‘Hollywood’, tremendously effective songs that They worked very well. I found the latter especially worthy, since it is characterized by choirs with a lot of studio production that make it a tough nut to crack when it comes to taking it live. Instead of opting for the easy resource of bringing pre-recorded backing tracks, the other members of the band took the microphone to fill in the second voices and the dedicated audience did the rest. Test passed with flying colors and a good example of the tremendous level that the Swedish band has achieved.
This Wednesday, HEAT offered an all-round concert that can only be criticized for the lack of any more ballads to cushion the intensity of the shock and offer a couple more encores. In fact, it could be said that there were no encores as such, since in the final stretch there was no traditional parade of going to the dressing room. Instead, the band offered an inspired instrumental interlude where guitarist Dave Dalone, another who left the line-up and later returned, pumped oil out of the pentatonic scales. It was also a good moment to appreciate the sound cushion provided by keyboards halfway between Europe’s heritage and the most contemporary synthesizers.
In Murcia, the Swedes exhibited a great technical level and a nose for melodies, but perhaps their best asset is the ability to transport us to an alternative reality in which the hard rock of the late 80s was not exhausted due to its own excesses, but it continued to evolve and adapt to new times without giving up its strength.
In contrast, the guest band, Crazy Lixx, offered just the opposite, a fun exercise in nostalgia for the Los Angeles scene. Their concert was surprisingly solid, only weighed down by a rather limited singer, with more attitude than capabilities. The comparisons were odious with that son of Odin, Kenny Leckremo, who left the stage, with his magnificent blonde cascade and his powerful chin, amid cries of ‘handsome’ from the large female sector. Oh, genetics! So cruel to some and so generous to others.
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