HARD - review added 14th February 2010
Album Review: Time Is Waiting For No One (2010)
For fans of: Hard Rock... and Hungary merging with Sweden
Time Is Waiting For No One is Hungarian band HARD's follow-up to Traveler (2008). It marks a number of important changes to the band. First, and arguably most important, is the addition of new Swedish lead singer Björn Lodin (Baltimoore) who replaces previous microphone abuser Zoltan Batky-Valentin. We quite liked Zoltan's characterful voice, but Björn really is in a different league.
Next up is the slight change of name. Gone are the dots from H.A.R.D., leaving the much-easier-to-type moniker we see today. Perhaps the band got p*ssed off constantly pushing the full-stop button too? Then there's the fact the band are now signed to a biggish label in the shape of Escape Music. There's no doubt this album is a turning point for HARD.
The sound is bright, crisp and hard rocking. Think along the lines of Led Zeppelin crossed with AC/DC. They regain their own unique sound, helped in no small way by Björn's characterful vocal approach. The rest of HARD don't lack for talent either. Alongside Björn are Balazs Hornyak on drums, Gabor Mirkovics on bass, plus Zsolt Csillik and Zsolt Vamos on guitar. Björn produced the work and, to all intents and purposes, has done a spankingly good job.
The excellent title track belts along like an express train with iffy brakes. 'Black Clouds' is a bounding rocker too. The slower 'Lonesome Loneliness' has a plodding 1970's vibe with some great Hammond tucked away in the background. 'Love Goes With Anything' is a sweet ballad, still with that grizzly and characterful HARD slant. 'Magical Pretence' heads off at a tangent and boasts a wonderful classic feel. 'Into The Fire' is a solid hard rock track with an urgent beat and a sub-zero persona.
'The Pace And The Flow' is another super-cool track with a laid-back charm you could use to chill an angry mule. 'My Kind Of Woman' is a rocketship of a track full of contagious beats and a monster chorus. 'Nona' is a pleasant mid-paced uptempo love song. Loving the guitar work. 'Shine On Me Now' is like a tacky 1980's hard rocker, although it's still good fun. Final entry 'Four-Leaf Clover' closes the album on a subdued note. Not a bad song, just has a dour tone that contrasts with the upbeat nature of the rest of the album.
Time Is Waiting For No One is a good album, and certainly a margin better than the previous release. HARD still have room to improve, but they are heading very quickly in the right direction. If the next album is this much better again it won't be too far off being a classic. All in all this is definitely worth a purchase.
Check out... 'Magical Pretence'. Such a classy entry.
Track List:
01. Time Is Waiting For No One
02. Black Clouds
03. Lonesome Loneliness
04. Love Goes With Anything
05. Magical Pretence
06. Into The Fire
07. The Pace And The Flow
08. My Kind Of Woman
09. Nona
10. Shine On Me Now
11. Four-Leaf Clover
Label: Escape Music
Artist's website(s): MySpace
