SILENCE

Jono is a lightly prog flavored hard rock band from Sweden with an irresistible and infectious sound. The first association you might draw would be that they share some characteristics with Queen. Theatrical vocals with emphasis on melody while rocking the house with a display of great musical skill. Other bands that came to mind were A.C.T and Presto Ballett.

The general mood is uplifting but also offers a healthy amount of depth. The arrangements are wonderfully over-the-top, serving a meal of guilty pleasures wrapped in a great sounding production that adds even more fun into the mix. The occasionally Brian May sounding guitar work is a treat and snappy drums which I was sorely missing with Queen. Another thing that sets them apart from many others in a very positive way is in the song writing. They successfully avoid the flaw of many other bands especially in the hard rock/AOR genre that one often has to wait for the chorus to get to a redeeming portion of the song.

It has been a long time since I found a rock band of this kind of music style that could get me excited. I found both their albums "Requiem" and the latest "Silence" to contain some excellent tracks.

Any nitpicking or room for improvement? Besides wishing that they had printed the lyrics in the booklet I can say there isn't much, but it wouldn't be me if I didn't have any 2 cents to add: I generally preferred the up-tempo rockers over the ballads and I could imagine the vocal harmonies to become more distinct as well as more room for instrumental interludes. But this is really no complaint as much as personal wishful thinking.

Anyway, this was an exceptional find - Thank you, Jono!