II

If you really enjoy bands like Journey, Bon Jovi, Survivor, Giuffria, Foreigner, Giant and Heart, this album may interest you. Now I would like to tell you a story. Once upon a time in Norway (no, no this is not Cinderella's tale), there was a band called Headstone. This band played in the supporting act for Uriah Heep and toured with the Quireboys in Ireland. During this tour, they were discovered by Nick Tauber (Def Leppard, UFO, Marillion and Deep Purple) who proposed them to record a demo. Right there, the lead singer Glenn Kristiansen took the hard decision to leave the band and joined the Commitments. Bad luck, they had the demo but lost their singer! At this point the band had to find a new singer. After many auditions, Steve Titz (bass, backing vocals) found the perfect singer in the person of Patrick Simonsen (lead vocal, guitars). The final lineup was completed by Keith Kristiansen (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals), and Rod Rutle (drums), therefore they decided to change their name in Hush. Their first album If You Smile, released on 1998, came out in Japan on JVC Victor, in Europe on Point Music. It received quite good critics but nothing more. They choose to take the time to work on the writing and recording of their brand new album simply called II. They enrole Terry Smith to play piano and organ. This second CD is a bombastic album.They did it! These fresh compositions, perfect sound and good chorus are delightful! At the first listening the melodies remain into your mind. Raged guitar solo gives the rebellion side of the compositions however they stay a little bit more at the back. One thing is sure, that this band could fill the gap from the best AOR period to the actual metal music. Don't miss it!