Year : 2020 (Japan Edition)
Style : Hard Rock , AOR
Country: Sweden
Audio : 320 kbps + scans
Size : 166 mb
Bio:
Alien is a Swedish rock band formed in Gothenburg in 1986 by guitarist Tony Borg and vocalist Jim Jidhed. They are best known today for their single "Only One Woman", a cover of a Marbles song, and "Brave New Love", which was featured in the 1988 remake of The Blob.
Early success (1986-88)
Borg and Jidhed's original lineup included Ken Sandin on bass guitar, Jimmy Wandroph on keyboards, and Toby Tarrach on drums. This group released the single "Only One Woman" in 1988, a cover of a song written by the Bee Gees and first recorded by The Marbles in 1968. The Alien cover reached #1 in Sweden and remained there for six weeks.Later in 1988, Alien released their first, eponymous album, including "Only One Woman" as well as "Brave New Love" and "Tears Don't Put Out the Fire", which was released as a single later that year. In 1989, the band released a re-worked version of it for the US/international market, again titled Alien. This album included eight out of the twelve tracks released in the 1988 album, 5 of which were remixed. Two new tracks were added, "Now Love" being one and a cover of "The Air That I Breathe" the other, both sung by new vocalist Peter "Pete" Sandberg.
Shiftin' Gear (1988-93)
In the fall of 1988, Jidhed left the band to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Peter Sandberg, formerly frontman for the bands Madison and Von Rosen. In 1990 the band also made other changes, such as replacing Wandroph and Tarrach with Bert Andersson on keyboards and Imre Duan on drums. This was the lineup for the band's release of its third album, "Shiftin' Gear". However, the album was not the success it was predicted to be and another major lineup change occurred. Andersson was replaced by Richard Andre on keyboards and Stefan Ridderstrale replaced Duan on drums. Former Madison bassist Conny Payne also joined Alien in 1993. Finally, lead singer Peter Sandberg departed the band and later pursued a solo career. To replace him, Alien recruited Daniel Zangger Borch.
Band Stability (1993-2005)
Alien returned to the studios to record their fourth album, again titled "Alien". Ridderstrale, although performing on tour, did not participate in the recording sessions and Michael Wilkman stood in as drummer. Production was weak and the band lost much of its following. This can also be attributed to the numerous band member changes between 1990 and 1993.Ridderstrale officially left the band in 1995 and Staffan Scharrin became the drummer, thus completing the band's present lineup. This new formation released the band's fifth album, "Crash" in 1995. This album featured heavier metal songs than previously recorded by Alien.Since then, Alien released three more albums, Best and Rare (1997, compilation), Live in Stockholm 1990 (2001) and Dark Eyes (2005). Dark Eyes was the first album to feature all new recordings and marked the return of Jim Jidhed to the band now composed of him, Mats Sandborgh on keyboards, Berndt Ek on bass, Jan Lundberg on drums alongside Tony Borg.Present days
ALIEN 2010- present - The original line-up eventually reunited, a handful of festivals were chosen - Sweden Rock (Cruise + Festival), Getaway Rock, Firefest a.o. A new single, Ready To Fly (Manora Rec), was cut to promote the reunion. It went down great with the crowd and especially the response at the first Firefest performance (2011) made the band really consider making this new record.In 2013, the No Remorse/EMI re-issue CD (ltd 1000 copies) of Alien (s/t Scandinavian) reached No.1 in the import album chart in Japan and sold out. EMI Music Sweden released the back catalog, re-mastered for digi/download with some unreleased demos as bonus. "Alien - 25th Anniversary" 2CD deluxe edition highlighted the celebration of ALIEN’s debut album, selling out as well. "Shiftin' Gear +4" CD (AOR Heaven) bonus tracks shed some light on the fact that the original line-up wrote and pre-produced a sophomore album, before disbanding in late 1989.
Album:
Late 1986 Alien recorded two songs, “Headstrong" and "I’ll Survive", at Studio Bohus. Virgin Scandinavia signed the band and released those two singles. In the meantime, while touring Scandinavia, they wrote their debut album “Alien”. Virgin believed in the band to appeal to audiences in further territories and hence rewrote their contract into a worldwide deal!Late 1987, at ABBA's Polar Studio, the Swedes cut three songs with producer Mark Dearnley (AC/DC, Def Leppard), one being "Only One Woman" which went on to top the charts and achieved platinum status. The B-side, "Somewhere Out There", also got to #1 in the charts, for instrumentals!After that, the group relocated to the renowned Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, with producer Chris Minto (Pat Benatar, Rick Springfield, KISS), to record the debut. Two songs were featured in the 1988 remake of the 50s sci-fi movie The Blob; "Feel My Love" plus "Brave New Love" in the end credits. Back from the US, with "Only One Woman" sky-rocketing the charts, Alien brought the album on tour, beating box office records, being all over the Swedish media.While in London doing promo, the band shot cover photos with Simon Fowler and signed with Steve Barnett / Hard To Handle Management (Gary Moore, AC/DC). For the international launch, Virgin America made a new album cover and some remixes by Duane Baron and John Purdell. Songs were cut out to include the first single with new singer Pete Sandberg: "The Air That I Breathe/Now Love". Pete replaced Jim Jidhed in the fall of 1988, making his first appearance performing live on Swedish national TV. New promo and cover photos were shot in L.A. as well as the video for "Tears Don't Put Out The Fire". Director Dough Freel was chosen mainly for his work on the Def Leppard “Hysteria“ album videos. Promotion, TV and a full summer of touring followed in 1989, bringing Alien’s biggest production to date on the road. “Tears Don’t Put Out The Fire" was chosen as the international single release. A couple more songs written during pre-production for the album were later published on the 1997 “Best & Rare” 2-CD collection.Between 1990 and 2005 ALIEN released four more albums: “Shiftin’ Gear” in 1990 (with Pete Sandberg). In 1992 Tony formed a Stockholm based Alien and made two albums at Eagle Records and in 2005, Tony Borg and Jim Jidhed got in touch and recorded “Dark Eyes” for Frontiers Records.In 2010, the original line-up eventually reunited, a handful of festivals were chosen, e.g. Sweden Rock (Cruise + Festival), Getaway Rock, Firefest. A new single, “Ready To Fly“ (Manora Rec), was cut to promote the reunion. It went down great with the crowd and especially the response at the first Firefest performance (2011) made the band really consider making a new record.The No Remorse/EMI reissue CD (ltd. 1000 copies) of “Alien“ (s/t Scandinavian) reached #1 on the import album chart in Japan and sold out. EMI Music Sweden released the back catalogue, remastered for digital download with some unreleased demos as bonus. The "Alien - 25th Anniversary" 2-CD deluxe edition highlighted the celebration of Alien’s debut album, selling out as well. "Shiftin' Gear +4" CD (AOR Heaven) with bonus tracks shed some light on the fact that the original line-up wrote and pre-produced a sophomore album, before disbanding in late 1989.Recordings of the “Eternity” album started August 1 at Bohus Sound and continued throughout 2013, taking a break only to perform at the Firefest 10th Anniversary show. Alien decided to add a song, “I’m A Fighter”, written back in the 80s by their L.A. co-writers Pam Barlow and Janet Morrison Minto, as an homage to their co-work on the debut. The regained contact with Pam and Janet led to them writing lyrics for this record as well.On November 27, 2020 Alien will release the album “Into the Future”. This record is taking the band from being merely an AOR band to more of a hard rock band with a heavier sound and more guitars. Creating “Into The Future” was really a journey back to the days of being free in a musical way to experiment with arrangement, sounds, melodies and just having a blast while doing it. Once again to the band's delight, Janet Morrison Minto has been a part of the lyrics writing and as always with great commitment. Alien is now Jim Jidhed, Tony Borg and Toby Tarrach (d). The album was recorded in various studios in Sweden including JM Studios in Gothenburg, Borg Music & Recording Studio in Stockholm, Music Family studio in Särö and Hope Studio in Gothenburg. The mix and mastering was handled by Erik Mårtensson (Eclipse) at Blowout Production in Sollerön.
Line Up:
Jim Jidhed – Vocals
Tony Borg – Guitars
Toby Tarrach – Drums
Tracklist:
01. You Still Burn
02. Night Of Fire
03. War Scars
04. Time Is Right
05. What Are We Fighting For
06. Into The Future
07. Freedom Wind
08. Really Wheeling It
09. Fallin Way Down
10. In Her Eyes
11. Children
12. Something's Wrong (Japan Bonus Track)
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
