1102. Northern Kings / Rethroned. 2008. 3.5/5

You never know... lightning might strike twice. Following the reasonable success of their first album together, the super-group conglomerate of Northern Kings obviously decided that it was worth a crack, and came together once again to record another album full of cover versions of songs from the past. It was a bold move, one that was always fraught with the danger that too much of a good thing would end up being the opposite. In the end, this was probably closer to the truth than the opening sentence of this review.

Rethroned brings together another eleven songs of mixed heritage to have new life breathed into them by this stellar array of vocalists and their supporting band. For me though, while I enjoyed the first album immensely, this time around I was not as enamoured. This has nothing to do with the musicianship or talents of the vocalists on show, indeed it has almost everything to do with the songs that were chosen to be covered. Whereas I knew and liked almost all of the songs on Reborn, here I knew about half the songs but didn’t necessarily enjoy the ones I knew. That made listening to this album a much more difficult process.
Four of the songs I was unaware of at all. I have of course heard the “Training Montage” before in the scene from Rocky IV where Stallone is getting ready to fight Ivan Drago, but I wouldn’t have recognised it in a million years. Being an instrumental it gave the band itself their time to shine to start the album off. “Strangelove” by Depeche Mode I don’t think I have ever heard, but the version here is listenable enough. “Killer” by Adamski and Seal I have no knowledge of at all, while "Róisín Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend" by Thin Lizzy I must have heard before, especially as it was the one album Gary Moore played on, but I simply don’t recall it at all. First rule of listening to a covers album is knowing all the songs recorded on it. Fail.
Five of the remaining seven songs are hit and miss, depending on your individual taste. Bon Jovi’s “Wanted: Dead or Alive” is a difficult song to cover well at the best of times, let alone by converting it to a faster tempo and trying to inject as much ‘power metal’ into it as you can. The vocal line itself is a tough one to carry off. I’m not sure it really works here. Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose” from Batman Forever is another which is hard to do justice to, but on this occasion, I think they’ve done it. By remaining more faithful to the original, expressing the emotion in the vocal lines where it comes and using the energy from the song to make an up vibe and faster tempo track, I think they’ve produced a great version. It helps that all four vocalists were involved in the track as it certainly increases the power and melody of the vocals. Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” which was popularised by Sinead O’Connor, has not been a long-held favourite of mine, and the version here is serviceable. Much the same could be said of the cover of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”. Given the reverence it is held in it was an interesting choice to do here, but I have to say they did a good job of it without taking away from the original. On the other hand, there is very little reverence held for Kylie Minogue’s “I Should Be So Lucky” given its life as the poppiest of pop songs, so the dual attack of this cover version, which begins as a slow, low and deep rendition for most of the track before breaking out in the last third to a fast paced scream gives this the perfect way of honouring this song that everyone knows but no one can actually admit that they like or liked.
The two remaining songs are my favourites. Duran Duran’s “A View to a Kill” from the James Bond movie of the same name is excellent, again helped by having all four vocalists involved in the harmonies throughout. I don’t think it betters the original (though I have a soft spot for all of Duran Duran’s music) but it does mirror the emotion and power of their version. Then there is A-ha's “Take on Me”, which the Northern Kings nail here in a symphonic masterpiece of vocal harmonies that perfectly enhance the vocals from the original version. This is a beauty, the kind of cover version of a song that shows off the qualities of both the original and the remake.

I don’t think this matches the previous album, but that is more for the songs chosen than the quality of the musicianship and vocals. Each song here sounds fantastic and the singing is fabulous. This was the second and last release from this supergroup, and perhaps their creative flow together had been sated by the two releases. No matter what the reason, I for one am glad they made the effort.

Best songs: “Take on Me”, “A View to a Kill”, “Kiss from a Rose”.

Rating:  “Until we dance into the fire.”  3.5/5

1100. Northern Kings / Reborn. 2007. 4/5

The Christmas holiday period in Australia always finds me looking back in time with rose coloured glasses on, back to my high school days and the music that dominated that time, both metal and pop music. So when you come across an album that fuses the two together, making metal anthems out of 1980’s pop songs, it is something that is hard to ignore. Thus over the past couple of months I have discovered Northern Kings and their two cover albums, starting with this one entitled Reborn.

Not sure why an album like this has to be released? Well, the answer is why not? This is a one-off super-group type of situation, with the four vocalists - Jarkko Ahola, Marco Hietala, Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto and Tony Kakko - from various Finland metal groups coming together to bash these tunes out. And for anyone like me who not only remembers all of these songs when they were released but also prefers heavier music, this is an enjoyable exercise.
Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” has probably always been a song that could lend itself to a reimagining, and this is one of the better cover versions here purely because it has been speeded up and given a raucous middle section dominated by the duelling guitar and keyboard solo along with the double kick. One of the kings of the AOR movement is given a perfect power metal overhaul here and sounds fantastic.
The version of Tina Turner’s “We Don’t Need Another Hero” from the movie Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome is perhaps the standout and certainly my favourite in this collection. It doubles down on the emotion of the original track and doesn’t move too far from the structure except to beef up the power and energy throughout. It is still impossible not to sing along at the top of your voice through the chorus, and the four voices together (the only track where all four are involved together) give this a fitting treatment.
Mr. Mister’s “Broken Wings” also sounds great, thanks to Tony Kakko who does a great job on the vocals for this track. On the other hand, Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” has gone in a different direction, going for the slower and lower approach which is the opposite of the vibrancy of the original. I appreciate that they needed to change this version to do something original with it, and I do think that it is fine in that respect. I just love the anger and fire of the original too much. I’d have loved to have heard a real power metal up-the-ante version of this. David Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes” is giving a fitting tribute which still giving it a varied sound which gives it its originality. To be honest I think Northern Kings version of “Fallen on Hard Times” is better than Jethro Tull’s original, giving it a life that Tull never did. It’s a great track and makes me listen to it in a different way now.
Another high energy track given a slower and more introspective version is Cutting Crew’s “I Just Died in Your Arms”, which to me deserved a real speed metal version instead. Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” sticks closely to the original piece, which is a good thing because it would be an easy song to make sound bad if you are not careful. This rendition is faithful and retains the vibe of the original. This is completely different from the version of Electric Light Orchestra’s “Don’t Bring Me Down” which is given a complete makeover and given the speed and vibrancy that power metal invokes. It is pretty much a completely different song with the same lyrics such is the change in the output. It takes a bit of getting used to if you know the original song well, which most people of my generation will. In the case of the Phil Collins hit “In the Air Tonight” the band again plays a more energetic version of the track without steering too far from the structure of the song, thus giving it a power metal feel without cracking the song for the purists.
There have been a couple of excellent and interesting cover versions of Radiohead’s “Creep”, though I wouldn’t number this among them. They have gone for a heavier slower version rather than go in the other direction, and to my thinking it would have been more interesting to hear that tested out instead.
A close second to song of the album is the souped up, double time version of Lionel Richie’s “Hello”, which is perfectly performed on vocals by Jarkko Ahola. Once again the emotion of the track is enhanced, while also giving the music an edge and a drive that the original does not have. Excellent. The album concludes with “Brothers in Arms” from Dire Straits which holds itself much to the same tempo as Mark Knopfler’s version which perhaps hinders the end of setlist because of it.

Like I said at the start, for anyone who grew up in the 1980’s listening to these songs on the radio and who also doesn’t mind hearing them get a fresh coat of paint this a well worth searching out. After a few listens I was hooked, and I can now put this on at any time, in any company, and get a kick from it.

Best songs: “We Don’t Need Another Hero”, “Fallen on Hard Times”, “Sledgehammer”, “Hello”.

Rating:  “All we want is life beyond Thunderdome.”  4/5