BravePicks 2015 – EUROPE's War Of Kings #29

All the votes are in and the compiling is done after days and countless hours of digging through all the piles of molten metal from 2015! So who will be #1? You’ll find out as we count down to the BravePick Of 2015 throughout December! And once again our devout scribes put their collective metal minds together to build the ultimate lists including individual Top 20s (new studio albums ONLY),  Top 5 Brave Embarrassments, Top 3 Concerts, What/Who Needs To Stop In 2016? and Metal Predictions For 2016. All will be showcased come the New Year!

Tis the season to commence the good, bad and ugly of 2015! Let’s rock!

29) EUROPE – War Of Kings (UDR)

Europe’s place as a legendary classic rock band was platinum-stamped early in their career, having enjoyed an explosive period of worldwide success in the ‘80s, under-pinned by their hit album and single The Final Countdown, before going on hiatus between 1992 and 2003. They reunited and quickly settled into a period of re-establishment which has seen them re-enforce their reputation worldwide as one of the premier purveyors of blues-tinged classic rock with an edge and some kick. Their last album, 2012’s Bag Of Bones, saw Europe hit the UK top 40 rock album charts and debut at #2 on the Swedish national charts.

War Of Kings has built upon the global groundwork Europe have put in over the last few years.

Singer Joey Tempest remarks: “Hey! We took the long road! But we wanted to re-establish Europe the proper way. It’s taken 10 years and countless tours since the re-union, but we’re finally getting there and we’ve done it our way!”

In his review, Kelley Simms writes: On their 10th studio album, War Of Kings, we’re graced with 12 (including bonus track “Vasastan”) electrifying blues-tinged rock tunes. The title track opens the album splendidly, which is steeped in classic rock royalty, recalling influences of bands such as Deep Purple, Whitesnake and UFO. The melodic break mid-track leads into a beautiful John Norum guitar solo. In fact, throughout the album there’s a plethora of well-thought out, fret-burning and passionate guitar solos, most likely inspired by his heroes Jimi Hendrix, Gary Moore and Michael Schenker. It’s as if Norum is sweetly singing with his guitar.

Read more at BraveWords.

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29) EUROPE – War Of Kings (UDR)
30) MY DYING BRIDE – Feel The Misery (Peaceville)