When I first caught wind that Alien was releasing a new album, my initial reaction was, “Alien is still around?!” For as in the loop as I like to think I am regarding the melodious world of AOR, apparently it skipped my mind that Alien are still an active recording and performing entity. Their 1988 self-titled debut is, for my money, one of the greatest AOR albums ever recorded, and while I’m only vaguely familiar with their output from there, I’ve yet to hear an Alien song I didn’t like. This trend continues on the band’s eighth and latest album, When Yesterday Comes Around.
Consisting of guitarist Tony Borg, drummer Toby Tarrach, frontman Jim Jedhed, and I assume hired guns on bass and keyboards (unless those are handled by Borg, but I can’t find any info confirming such), the Alien of 2025 boasts the same musical spirit of Alien circa 1988. Yet whereas the Alien of ’88 were youthful, vibrant, and exuding a sense of naivety one would expect from a band of newcomers, the Alien of ’25 are mature, subdued, and rife with wisdom that could only come from a band who’s been going at it for nearly 40 years. Don’t get it twisted: When Yesterday Comes Around isn’t the sound of a band going through the motions and banking off a name for a quick paycheck. Alien have aged like fine wine, and boy is it sweet!
The first half of When Yesterday Comes Around consists of some very dynamic melodic rockers, starting with the explosive “In the End We Fall”. Considering I’ve always viewed as Alien to be as orthodox AOR as they come, I was taken aback by this fiery display of euro melodic metal à la Pretty Maids, which is further expanded upon on the neoclassical “I Belong to the Rain”. Chorus-heavy cuts like “If Love is War” and “Aiming High” channel the retro bliss of their ’88 masterpiece, while their interpretation of Firefall’s “Strange Way” finally answers my burning question: What if an AOR/hard rock band covered Firefall? No joke, I’ve pondered this for years, and even had the idea of covering “Strange Way” myself, but as the old saying goes, great minds think alike.
From about “I Remember” onwards, Alien settle into a rather no-nonsense, sophisticated brand of AOR, similar in arrangement and atmosphere to the English gods of pomp, Magnum. Some songs execute this approach better than others (i.e. “Fall in My Arms”, “Hearts on Fire”), but what links this latter half of the album together are impassioned melodies and an undeniable sense of class. At times the feeling almost borders on progressive, yet without the songs ever getting overtly technical or too big for their britches, and the atmosphere is purely old school.
When you put it all together, When Yesterday Comes Around is not just a highly enjoyable listen, but a pleasurable listen, which is key for this genre. It leaves you longing for the “good ol’ days”, which in my case was long before I was born, while also unleashing an army of relentless earworms, guaranteed to take residence in your head for the next week or two. Clearly, it’s going to take more than tears to put out this fire, and your memories of these cult AOR titans will only fan the flame.
7 out of 10
Label: Pride & Joy Music
Genre: AOR
For fans of: Magnum, Dare, Europe
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