Wow! That's the first word that comes to mind when listening to Focus for
the first time. Focus is the follow-up to The Calling (2004) which was an all-star project
with Christian Liljegren (Narnia). But since Christian Liljegren left Narnia, he decided
to focus on Audiovision. Now he's accompanied by the brothers Weinesjö (from Veni Domine)
on guitar and drums, his own brother Simeon Liljegren (formerly of Modest Attraction) on
bass and Olov Andersson (Grand Stand) on keyboards. This is an album that reminds me why I
started loving hard rock and metal more than twenty years ago. Audiovision plays powerful
metal music with a keen ear for melody. Important are the vocals. There are harmonic
vocals and parts you can shout along to. Christian Liljegren's vocals are more diverse
than ever before. From fragile to raw to high pitched vocals, it's all here. The Weinesjö
brothers excel themselves too, something I missed on the last Veni Domine albums. With
great drumming and some really tasty guitar solos Focus is a joy to listen to. The CD also
has a Stryper cover, The Way, which sounds much like the original. Top songs on the album
are the heavy opener Invitation, Keep The Fire Burning with its catchy chorus, the uptempo
We Are Not Alone with a nice keyboard solo, and the arena rocker We Will Go. I hope that
these guys can pull it off live, if so, I think they can come far. The year is still
young, but I expect Focus to be among my 2010 favorites.
