bad habit atmosphere

Released: 24 January 2011 Label: AOR Heaven

Atmosphere sees Swedish AOR legends Bad Habit return to the fore with album number ten and unsurprisingly, it’s packed full of the type of shiny, hi-gloss melodic rock anthems the band has made their stock in trade.
                 

And when we say melodic rock, we mean uber-melodic rock. Although there are some great guitar flourishes on these thirteen tracks, the main thrust is in their lovingly crafted structures and perfectly executed pop melodies.

The keyboard-dominated Break the Silence and album opener In the Heat of the Night feature the sort of sugary sweet melodies that the soft-rocking likes of Cher, Roxette and Michael Bolton would have turned into massive hits during the mid-eighties.

Predictably, there’s a healthy proportion of pretty typical big ballads, with songs like Angel of Mine and Only Time Will Tel’ touching base with melodic rock greats like Journey, Bad English and early Bon Jovi.

An awful lot of full on metalheads will consider this to be a journey into musical hell and it has to be said that Bad Habit can stray dangerously close to dad rock on occasions.

If you like your rock with a soft centre, you will absolutely adore every gentle keyboard dive, every stereotypical key change and every last swooning lyrical hymn to standing in the rain – you know the drill. Taken for what it is, this is a pretty faultless collection and is a fine album for those days when you just face another round of stage diving.

by Marcus Jervis