Review: Stiletto – You Know…Like The Shoe. Or The Knife…We Don’t Know Yet

Independant – September 4^th, 2026

Reviewer – Jason Hopper

I am going to start this review by stating how much I love this EP from Swedish Melodic Rock act Stiletto. I usually do not open with accolades, but after streaming the EP three days ago, playing it on repeat several times daily (the advantage of EPs), I then decided to order a physical copy of the EP. While I could have stopped there, I felt compelled to review the EP and help in any way to get the word out about this band. This is bound to be in my Top 3 albums of the year.

The band was formed around three years ago by guitarist Andi Sarandopoulos, the main songwriter. Because melodic rock players seem to grow on trees in Sweden, he was able to pull together other musicians in the region to form his vision for the band.

If you haven’t heard the two lead singles yet, you’ve been missing out for the past few months.  ‘Going Under’ was released first and has a Dokken style opening riff that’s loud, in your face, and grabbed me immediately. When lead vocalist Noelle Barton takes command of the song, the lyrical venom she spits out along with the rhythm, scattered arpeggios, and choral vocables in the chorus is everything I love about the genre. Seriously, every box was checked by this song. Sheer masterpiece!

With this being the first single, I thought to myself that they clearly unleashed their best song onto the world. However, the second single ‘Leave It All Behind’ gave it serious competition for that title. Sensational keyboards from Alexander Zackrisson add atmosphere before Andi jumps in with another blistering riff on par with their first single.  Again, all the boxes are checked here. The added bonus is a guitar solo that changes up the rhythm, with drummer Henrik Remesaho hitting some double bass while Andi incorporates some speed strumming before a searing solo. The fact that these two songs are next to each other on the EP make for a powerful sonic punch.

As great as those songs were, I was still trying to decide if I wanted to purchase a digital download or buy a physical copy. The physical would have set me back by about $25 extra dollars. Being that I was only buying six tracks, I was not sure about spending the extra money.  The song after ‘Leave It All Behind’ was the one that made me decide to go the physical media route.

‘Sorry’ is not your stereotypical power ballad, it’s more a mid-tempo rocker but the lyrics are straight out of the 80s power ballad songbook. It’s about the end of a relationship and the need to move on. Simple enough, but it’s the chorus and the enunciations of the words from Noelle that pull on the heartstrings. It moved me in a way that the best ballads always do, making me feel those painful emotions of loves lost long ago. Beautiful.

Opener ‘Witching Hour’ is the perfect track to start the EP and exactly what I want to hear at a time when Fall is upon us and the spooky season begins. It’s about the mysticism behind the 3AM witching hour mythos and has that high energy riffage that is a staple of the band. This is absolutely going on (and opening) my Halloween playlist for this year.

There’s two other songs I could talk about, and those are great as well, but I honestly played these other songs more and wanted to highlight those. My only complaint is the album needed more tracks. Just six? I need more from this band. Anyone who loves 80’s sounding Euro-style hard rock needs to check this out immediately. Go support a band that has the potential to be the next big thing in our scene.

Track list:

1. Witching Hour
2. I’d Give It All
3. Going Under
4. Leave It All Behind
5. Sorry
6. Move On

Line-up:

Noelle Barton – Vocals

Andi Sarandopoulos – Guitar

Alex Zackrisson – Keyboards

Tony Bakircioglu – Bass

Henrik Remesaho – Drums

Web Links:

Facebook