Formed in Norway in 2010 and with one album ‘Shitkickers’ (2012) under their belt, Xelerate are back with a second full length that comes across as a mix of Melodic Metal and more classic hard rock but with a real modern kick that at times has almost touches of Northward but toned down ’till it almost touches on Halestorm. In truth this is a long way from their debut which had more AC/DC and Motorhead in the mix.
We open impressively enough with the Melodic Metal of ‘Feel the Flame’ and ‘Bring Me One Alive’ which ends with an impressive kettle whistle of scream! ‘Game Changer’ that follows is almost Lee Aaron ‘Metal Queen’ territory and a nice pacey change to more Hard Rock fare.
The change of pace comes with second single ‘Far From a Game’ a lilting ballad with a touch of Amy Lee about it, there’s a nice build and a memorable chorus to boot and it certainly cements that new direction.
Sadly there are only another four tracks and they’re equally worthy of your attention. ‘What You Wanna Do’ is surprising straight, even funky Hard Rock and the catchiest track here; ‘Fading’ is harder and grittier with that Metal edge again. Closing pair ‘Trouble’ and ‘No Sleep For the Wicked’ add more Hard Rock and foot-to-the-floor respectively.
Short, sweet, straight to the point Rock and Roll for both fans of Hard rock and Heavy Metal.