CD REVIEW: ALL THE WAY by STATE OF SALAZAR

ALL THE WAY by State Of Salazar
(Frontier Records)

After creating a buzz amongst the melodic rock community with their Ep, 'Lost My Way', Sweden's State of Salazar release their full length debut, 'All The Way'.  Marcus Nygren – Vocals, Johan Thuresson – Guitar, Johannes Hansson – Bass, Stefan Mårtenson – Keyboard and Kristian Brun – Drums.  'All The Way' is an awesome album by a new melodic rock group from  Malmö, Sweden. State Of Salazar have put out a flawless album filled with great vocal melodies and harmonies and pure Toto-like grooves with the heavy production and big choruses. If this is your cup of tea is high powered melodic rock then you will love what the band have to offer. From the moment AOR gems like, "I Believe In You", "Filed Of Dreams" and "Eat Your Heart Out" and comes on State Of Salazar had my undivided attention. Other highlights; "All The Way", "Marie", "Let Me Love" and "Catastrophe".This is the type of music to make your mood soar, without lulling you to sleep. Every song has that vintage AOR/arena rock feel, and every aspect from the songwriting to the musicianship to the vocals to the production is absolutely top notch. State Of Salazar have that polished, radio-friendly melodic rock sound down perfectly, and they match it with a modern production and that distinctly Swedish sense of melody. Rarely does a new band so completely capture the old school AOR sound like State Of Salazar has here. 'All The Way' is pure melodic rock gold.  A must-have for fans of modern AOR bands like Lionville, Street Talk, Shadowman and Work Of Art. This one is easy to recommend. If you like melodic rock at all, you NEED this album in your collection. - Highly Recommended
Tony @ The Dedicated Rocker Society/All Access Magazine