Revving up with a Joe Satriani vibe on the intro to 'Driven' gives a clear indication that Aventyr are a band that aren't going to shy away from using their guitar players to maximum effect. It's a high octane piece of power pop rock with dirty riffs littering the melodic highway along which they travel. The pedal is most definitely down to the leopard print floor mats as backing vocals spill out of AOR heaven, harmonised by a choir of fallen angels. What an opening! Took me by surprise if I'm honest. I wasn't expecting anything this good. 'Betrayed' shows no signs of letting the side down and continues in much the same vein. A rolling bassline pollutes the atmosphere with a smokey haze before a jumpy riff takes over, making way itself for more of the harmonised backing vocals through the chorus. Close your eyes, think Def Leppard jamming with Backyard Babies. If that thought scares you then steer well clear of 'Driven', if not then buckle up and join the ride. Video track 'Trouble' unleashes wave after wave of style with a searing solo that could be attributed to Steve Stevens. Mixed, mastered and co-produced by Beau Hill (Europe, Winger) 'Driven' has a wall of comfortable sound that plays out like a well polished platinum record. Smooth grooves lead nicely into 'Tomorrow'. Hard rock roots reaching as far back as Klaus Meine's hairline. 'Torpedo' explodes into a shining ball of hard rock fury and the soundtrack to an insane ride down 'Crazy Roads' empties the tank quickly by pushing the needle into the red. Roger Olsen has a suave, commanding style behind the mic. Laid back yet loud his presence is similar to that of Billy Idol in some ways. There's a harder edge to these guys than first thought. And 'Empty Bottles' proves my point as it injects a nitro burst of punkish attitude, firing up Motorhead sized engines and showing a different angle to Aventyr not seen on the previous tracks. A heavier, more aggressive sounding band is uncovered momentarily but the punky edge is soon pulled back in and re-set to hard rock with 'Wanted', the last tune to swagger off under the Norwegian sunset that Aventyr call home. More northern hemisphere harmonies build alongside the pulsing bass that has dominated the background throughout this ten track journey so effectively. Great stuff. Hell, this is a damn fine album, let's leave it at that. Hope all is well and keep on rocking!!!!!!