They're baaack! Nearly a decade-and-a-half has passed since we last heard from one of hair metal's leading bands, Europe, and the group has returned with Start from the Dark.
While the group has earned a bit of a bad rap over the years (their keyboard-heavy tale of Armageddon, "The Final Countdown," was voted one of the 'Most Awesomely Bad Songs of All Time' on VH1), there's no denying that under all the pretty boy good looks and pop hooks, Europe was a talented band -- especially when compared to the other similar acts of the era.
Europe's latest sees the group toughen up their sound a bit (especially when compared to their aforementioned Final Countdown era), as guitarist John Norum's heavy riffs serve as the main focal point, not keyboards, especially on such tracks as "Got to Have Faith" and the title track.
In fact, even when the band takes the volume down a notch, as on "Reason," they wisely no longer try to heighten the 'syrup factor' with keyboards.
Fans longing for Europe's return should enjoy Start From the Dark, even if their sound may be a bit heavier nowadays.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Got to Have Faith | Europe | Play | 03:10 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 2 | Start from the Dark | Europe | Play | 04:12 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 3 | Flames | Europe | Play | 03:55 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 4 | Hero | Europe | Play | 04:15 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 5 | Wake Up Call | Europe | Play | 04:14 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 6 | Reason | Europe | Play | 04:37 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 7 | Song No. 12 | Europe | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | Roll with You | Europe | Play | 04:30 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 9 | Sucker | Europe | Play | 03:42 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 10 | Spirit of the Underdog | Europe | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 11 | America | Europe | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 12 | Settle for Love | Europe | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 48 mins | 111 MB | |||||
| 48 mins | 347 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Elson | Mixing, Producer |
| 2 | Europe | Primary Artist |
| 3 | Ian Haugland | Drums, Group Member |
| 4 | Thomas Larsson | Art Direction, Graphic Design |
| 5 | John Leven | Bass, Group Member |
| 6 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 7 | Mic Michaeli | Group Member, Keyboards |
| 8 | John Norum | Group Member, Guitar |
| 9 | Tom Size | Engineer |
| 10 | Joey Tempest | Group Member, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |