Europe - The Final Countdown

Remastered with Bonus Tracks. Album Details

An instant classic. Must have for melodic rock/metal fan.

I'll start off the review by admitting that this is the only Europe album I have actually heard, I will not compare it to other efforts of the band.

This album is perfect in almost every way. The production is top-notch, the melodies are powerful, the rhythm section is neither overpowering nor lost in the background, the choruses are catchy with vocal harmonies all over the place, add some of the most amazing guitar solos you'll ever have the pleasure of hearing and a healthy dose of cheesy keyboard and synth effects, and you have the making of the perfect melodic rock/metal album.

Truth be told, the band doesn't do anything that hasn't been done before. But they do it so well that you just don't care if you've heard the same damn formula thousands of times before. There are no fillers here, just track after track of exceptionally well written hard-rock (and I do stress on this point, the band doesn't do anything new yet blow your mind every time the song hits its climax) with a ton of hooks, all the while without overwhelming the listener. That's not to say that the band doesn't go "out there" every now and then. There's even a little jazz/blues keyboard/guitar jam somewhere in there.

John Norum's guitar solos are unbelievably well done, having the right mix of face-melting shred and heart wrenching melodies. You'd think that statement could be true to most bands of the 80's, but the solos on this album will change your mind.

My only notable complaint with the album is the lack of any real riffs (the band was heading into a new direction), surprisingly for an album of this type, it doesn't suffer much of that drawback. However, if you're a listener who demands some headbanging in his/her music, you won't find much of it here.

There's no denying there's a strong "commercial" vibe throughout the album, but that's typical of albums from the late 80's scene. And in my personal opinion, it only serves to make the album even better. However, if you're a listener who loathes any sort of poppiness or commercialness in his/her music, might want to start looking elsewhere.

To sum up, this album is a definite classic and a must-have for (almost) anyone who's into melodic rock or metal. This album simply never gets old. May 4, 2008

Recommended

If you're tired of nowadays numetal and all those craps, this excellent polished 1986 album is highly recommended for you. That's why the first song is still being played over and over at many sport events and commercials nowadays January 5, 2008

EUROPE ROCKS!!

I love this album, I remember Jammin out to this album back in the 80's.
Then the 90's came around and you didn't hear much about them, even now you don't hear much from them.
I thought they were a good simple rock & roll group, well I guess there's always VAN HALEN.
I think this album had good guitar work on it, and keyboards.
I also like the leader singer he's a good singer.
I rate this CD a 9 from 1to10!! January 4, 2008

Ninja

The band Europe is one of the greatest bands of all time. They mixed pop like vocals which made the songs catchy and the amazing guitar riffs in the back. John Norum the groups guitar player is the greatest guitar player ive ever heard, especially in the two solos of the song ninja and every other solo on the record two. This record is worth the money! Dont pass it up! October 7, 2007

It Rocks !!

Having owned this tape in the early nineties, I used to sing along Karaoke to every one of these songs. It was back to the old swinging times again. This was one of their best albums and I remember next one "Wings of tomorrow" a dissappointment.

A lot of quality guitarwork with great vocals, I would qualify this as crossover metal - right in between good old classic rock and metal. Kindof like pushing the boundaries of classic rock, like the Aerosmith's and the Rush'es of classic rock.
August 31, 2007

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