Review: Domino Drive – Smoke And Mirrors

Pride & Joy Music (September 22^nd 2023)

Reviewer: Stephen Brophy

Swedish Melodic Rockers Domino Drive may well be a new name to most, me included, but guys involved have been putting this band together for a few years now and their debut album now released on the World hopefully we will get to see what they are all about in a live environment as I think it would be not only very interesting but powerful. Not sure what’s in the water in Uppsala but it seems to birth Melodic Rock bands and musicians at will. What is very unusual here is that the initial seeds of this band/project were born almost 10 years ago, with all members being involved with other musical endeavors it was always going to take a little time, but I think most ideas that are born that long before never come to fruition, so kudos to the guys for getting it all together when schedules allowed.

‘Smoke And Mirrors‘ brings us 10 tracks that are most definitely Melodic Rock, but there are a number of elements and influences in the mix here, and that all adds to the interest for me, it’s an album that I think you can listen to ten times and pick out different new things each time, always a bonus in my eyes. There are certainly elements of progressive rock in there, perhaps a little power metal here and there, Jonas wonderful vocals can obviously traverse many areas. Sebastian’s layered keyboards are prominent throughout and I think the sheer quality of the musicians involved here elevates this one above the norm. Making a guest appearance on guitar is Fredrik Folkare (Unleashed) who also mastered the album and did a damn fine job of it.

When you manage to get high quality musicians schedules synced to allow them to finally work together in a band then you get a result like this, for me it’s not the finished article, but it is certainly a massive notice sign of what could be to come from the band, so fingers crossed we will get more than just one album, because the possibilities are boundless.

Highlights on the album for me are the beautiful ‘The Girl Who Never Was’ featuring Hexed vocalist Tina Gunnarsson and both singers voices work perfectly on this track and the classical guitar works so well alongside everything else, the second single ‘Never Give Up’ opens with almost a mixture of a 80’s hard rock drum into and more progressive rock keyboards, and it’s no bad thing at all, it’s got a lot of punch to it. Personally I really like the track ‘Cul-De-Sac’ that rumbles along, has cracking backing vocals and some really cool keyboard runs, it might not be the one that sticks out most for everyone, but I keep coming back to it for more. In all honestly there’s not a track I don’t like on this album for one reason or another, but perhaps ‘Maria Dolorosa’ doesn’t grab me in the way most of the others do, but it’s hardly a criticism.

Domino Drive are definitely a name to keep an eye on, this album is really good, very well put together musically interesting and a singer that pulls you in with that ability to tell a story. Already looking forward to hear what they do next, but don’t skip ‘Smoke And Mirrors‘, with the volume of releases it may not automatically grab your attention as a new name on the block, but give it a spin, I have found it very enjoyable and musically it’s top notch.

Tracklisting:

01 Starlet Queen

02 Never Give Up

03 Hollywood Nights

04 What About Us

05 Maria Dolorosa

06 Smoke And Mirrors

07 The Girl Who Never Was

08 Cul-De-Sac

09 The Jester King

10 Make Waves