Album Review: Velveteen Queen – The Greater Good

Silver Lining Music – September 18th, 2026

Reviewer – David Pearce

Velveteen Queen are a Swedish hard rock band consisting of Samuel Nilsson on keyboards and vocals, the two guitarists Lucas Axx and Noah Mardh, Vilmer Fall on bass and Isaac Borg on drums. Their second album ‘The Greater Good‘ has been eagerly awaited so let’s dive in.

The opening track is ‘Too Far Gone‘. The brilliant opening riff from Lucas Axx and Noah Mardh starts the album off in fine style as they immediately show their excellent ear for a tune. Samuel Nilsson is superb on the vocals and the whole track carries echoes of ZZ Top. We then have the title track ‘The Greater Good‘ featuring Peter Keys of legendary rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd on piano. Nilsson has a completely different vocal style in this song as he fits in with the Southern Rock of Keys’ old bandmates. It is a song that Lynyrd Skynyrd themselves would be really proud of.

The third track is called ‘Talk or Walk‘ by a band that can clearly do both! The bass of Vilmer Fall gives a great base to this track and it allows Nilsson to show off his vocals once again to huge effect. ‘Adrenaline‘ is a song that definitely lives up to its name. There is a definite nod to Judas Priest with this song and it’s a good chance to mention drummer Isaac Borg whose unshowy style gives the songs such an impact. He gives a depth to the music that all the great drummers do.

‘Can’t Go Back in Time‘ is another excellent track. It is a heavier track than the first four and it is a really good example of the tightness of this quintet who play together brilliantly and make each song a team effort. Closing the first half of the album is ‘Chains‘. It is a ballad that sounds like it could be sung around a campfire in a desert and it has a superb vocal once again from Nilsson.

The second half of the album starts with ‘It Ain’t Over‘, a song which keeps up the excellent standard so far. Once again the guitars of Axx and Mardh are to the fore with another great riff. Nilsson shows that his vocals can change for each song, and sometimes within each song as he does here. ‘Liar‘ is the next track. It gives Borg a chance to come to the fore with a drum solo at the start that is simply excellent. His percussive attack continues throughout the song and he carries the band with him in a bravura performance.

The final three songs on the album start with ‘Best of the Best‘. On an album like this that’s quite a boast and it pretty much lives up to the boast with a powerful rocker that brings together the five members at the peak of their powers. Penultimate track ‘Sorry‘ is another winner in an album full of them. It’s a gorgeous ballad that in it’s own way matches the previous track for quality. The vocal prowess of Nilsson continues to surprise the listener in this collection and it confirms his position amongst the top rank of current singers. The album draws to a close with ‘Try (to Believe Me)‘. It’s a no holds barred rocker that finishes a superb collection on a high.

This album is going to be very hard to beat for the rest of the competition and I have to put it at the top of the albums I’ve listened to this year for Rockposer. Give Velveteen Queen a listen. You’ll be glad you did.

Track list:

1. Too Far Gone
2. The Greater Good
3. Talk or Walk
4. Adrenaline
5. Can’t Go Back in Time
6. Chains
7. It Ain’t Over
8. Liar
9. Best of the Best
10. Sorry
11. Try (Try to Believe Me)

Line-up:

Samuel Nilsson – Lead Vocals, Keys

Lukas Axx – Guitar

Noah Mårdh – Guitar

Vilmer Fall – Bass

Isac Borg – Drums

Web links:

Official Website

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