When Norway careens into the USA the results are unsurprisingly eclectic and not as messy as you might think! However, the amount of Britishness about ‘Driven’ by Norway’s Aventyr, which was mixed and mastered by legendary American producer Beau Hill, maybe isn’t quite what was expected. This debut effort is pleasantly varied in approach with elements of good old fashioned metal in the style of Judas Priest jostling keenly with the howl and stomp of The Cult, a touch of Sunset Strip, some straight down the middle NWOBHM’ness and a good blast of energetic rock and roll. Yeah I know, that sounds like a stramash of ideas and in a way it is. However if you are able and willing to put aside the fact that one song on this album can sounds decidedly unlike the next, while still fitting together beautifully, then there’s much to entice the bouncy big kid out of you here. A twin guitar sound courtesy of lead licker Jan Tore Befring and rhythm raconteur Steinar Aven infuses ‘Driven’ with a keen sense of purpose, while the sometimes snarling, sometimes scything vocals from Roger Olsen sit perfectly in songs strongly influenced by a whole host of 70s and 80s ideals. ‘Outside’ combines the school-cap riffery of AC/DC to an early Def chant of Leppard via the snarl of ‘Kill ‘Em All’ Metallica. ‘Delirious’ adds a human pyramid of Scorpions staccato harmony riffs to a blurting NWOBHM chorus. ‘Torpedo’ mashes up wolf worrying era Cult and the lip-curling gurn of Billy Idol, while ‘Crazy Roads’ pounds and pummels like Priest rattling their ‘British Steel’. Add to that a Skid Row grind and layered Crüe like gang chorus in the title track and then a hip shimmying of G&R, a throaty cough of Motorhead and a straight between the eyesness of Krokus or Golden Earring and you pretty much have Aventyr covered. What’s not to like? Steven Reid The Norwegian Great Hard Rockers Aventyr Is Looking For you!!!