Christian Liljegren
Melodic Passion

Apparently this is the 40th album that Christian Liljegren is part of, during a career of about 35 years. That is quite impressive, he has found his passion in the melodies and religion to become quite a productive guy, kind of like the DIY-person who builds his own furniture or something. This new album is the third under his own name and it is called Melodic Passion. On reflection I guess it is kind of great to have found that kind of passion in life with the god and melodic rock rather than be depressed or prone to darkness, but the darkness seems to create more exciting music. So, what about this one?

I guess it is melodic and passionate, passionate towards god in regards to the message being as subtle as a gunshot in the head. The choruses are catchy, the sound melodic, and the production is very good. Christian sings well, he has a fine voice for the style of music he does. Still, the album is also a very predictable album both in the regards that it completely lacks originality and that it sounds a lot like most of the stuff that Christian has already been part of before. I guess you can say that ideas are missing, and that the variation could have been better.

Melodic Passion is a fine album, it is melodic and it is passionate which is more or less what you need to make an acceptable album. The songs are quite good as well, with the opening title track possibly the highlight. Still, there is this problem with the message of the album kicking me in the face all the time. I have nothing in principle against making music that has a relevant message, and Christianity is that for some, but it is fantasy to others. Political messages are fine whether I like them or not, but religious one is kind of like the fantasy stuff of Rhapsody and if the theme takes too much space it takes away some, or most, of the passion for what I am listening to. That is the main weakness of this album, the lack of originality the other, isn’t over 30 albums in the same style more than enough? I would think so, I usually get bored just to listen to most of the stuff in the genre these days and would never think to make one (not that I would be able to but just to illustrate the absurdity of making the same thing ad infinitum).

In the end I think this album is fairly enjoyable to listen to, it should appeal to most fans of the genre. But as I have already stated, the message can be disturbing so it is not a bad thing if you can close your mind to the lyrical content of it.

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