Year : 2013 (Frontiers Records Remastered Edition 2023)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock
Country : Denmark
Audio : 320 kbps + front + Video
Size : 194 mb
Bio:
Formed back in the early 80's, Danish hard rock band FATE made themselves quite a name on the metal/rock scene with their 4 superb albums. In 2009 the band is stronger than ever! The hard rock legend known as FATE came to life in 1984 when guitarist Hank Sherman left Mercyful Fate. Hank hooked up with fellow Copenhagen musicians bassplayer Pete Steiner (a.k.a. Peter Steincke) and drummer Bob Lance (a.k.a. Bjarne Holm). Together they formed Fate with singer and entertainer Jeff "Lox" Limbo. Originally heralded by the press and fans worldwide as the Danish version of Van Halen (first and foremost due to Limbo's stage appearance), the band rocketed into success with the self titled debut album becoming quite a classic on it's own among the hard rock / AOR / melodic metal fans. With the follow-up in 1986, "A Matter Of Attitude", Fate established their success, and gained even more fans. However, 1988 saw the first line-up change in the history of Fate, as Hank Sherman left the band, and the guys had to find a new guitarist to fill the vacant spot. It became The Mysterious Mr. Moth (a.k.a. Jacob Moth). Output number 3 was the "Cruisin' For A Bruisin'" album, which was less of a serious album, and more in the vein of the albums David Lee Roth were putting out at that time .. in other words, an album fitted perfectly at Limbo's voice and stage antics. The album did quite okay, especially thanks to the single & video "Lovers", but it was evident that the band needed to make some changes to get back to their classic hard rock roots. With "Scratch N Sniff" in 1990, the band had returned to the same ballsy sound as on the first 2 albums, but also ventured a step further to becoming a more mature and serious band. This was due to 2 major changes; Limbo was out of the band and new singer Per Henriksen (later changed his last name to Johansson) took the place as frontman with bravour. Per's voice was made for this kind of music, and his input on the sound of "Scratch N Sniff" was tremendous. Also, this album featured the huge talents of Swedish guitarist Mattias "IA" Eklundh, a young dude, who'd later shoot to stardom with his own band Freak Kitchen. Yes, the sound of Fate was intact, but also more daring and adventurous than ever before. After several tours in 1990/91, on their own, as well as with Danish collegues Pretty Maids, Fate and Mattias parted ways, as Mattias wanted to focuse on his solo-career and own material. The band then found a new guitarist in local talent Søren Hoff, and they did a couple of demo's and gigs with this line-up, before the band however officially closed down in 1993. Years went by, and Fate was still a name that reminded people of how great classic hard rock could actually be. In 2004 the guys got the offer to play the prestigious Deep Impact Festival in Germany, and of course this was too good an offer to turn down. So Peter, Per, Søren and the two temporary musicians; drummer Rasmus Duedahl and keyboardist Nicklas Burman, took the trip down there, and had really good response from fans and media - and this also lead to MTM Music wanting to license the "A Matter Of Attitude" and "Scratch N Sniff" albums from EMI, remaster them and release them with some additional bonus tracks. Now, ignited by the overwhelming response to the re-releases, Fate has decided to give it another shot, and with the line-up of Peter, Per, Søren and new drummer Mikael Kvist (from Swedish prog-metal band Elsesphere) Fate is back in action. In the winter of 2005/2006 the band finished recording their next album, "V", with producer Tommy Hansen (who did "Scratch N Sniff" back in 1990, as well as having produced bands like Helloween, Pretty Maids and many more), and promoted worldwide by Intromental Management. Signed to MTM Music for Europe/Australia/South America and Replica Records for France, Fate released "V" in April 2006 . In 2008 Jens Berglid on drums and Mikkel Henderson on keyboards, joined the band and the tracking of new demos begun! Per decided to leave the band in 2008 in the middel of the demo recordings and Dagfinn Joensen was found in 2011. The dansih guitar hero Torben Enevoldsen joined the band on guitar after Søren Hoff and Fate decided to go seperate ways. November 2011 the new album "Ghosts From The Past" will be released 16´th of November in Japan on Rubicon Records and on the 25´th of November in EU on AOR Heaven EU. Dansih legendary AOR band formed back in 1984. Six albums later and a whole lot of members going in and out they are back!
Album:
In December 1st Frontiers Music present the reissues of three classic albums from Denmark AOR / melodic rockers FATE ; “If Not For the Devil”, “Ghosts from the Past”, and “V” – all being made available digitally globally in remastered form, including previously unreleased tracks.Overwhelmed by the unexpected response to the reissues of their Eighties albums, in 2006 Fate decided to give it another shot. Comeback album “V” was recorded and produced by Tommy Hansen – who also did Fate 1990’s “Scratch’n Sniff” – and was greeted as the perfect follow-up for the band’s fourth album, despite the gap of 16 years.”V” was followed by ”Ghosts From the Past” (2011), and then this ”If Not For the Devil” (2013) solidifying the return of one of Copenhagen’s favorite melodic hard rock sons.Now augmented with a previously unreleased track, ”If Not For the Devil” 2023 remaster sounds fabulous.“If Not For The Devil” delivers the traditional Fate melodic / AOR numbers, but also some harder, darker tracks placed in the second half of the disc.All starts with the killer “Reaping”, a goose-bumping rocker driven by a kick-ass riff and smashing drumming, where the potent vocals are backed up by generous doses of keyboards.Next, title track “If Not For The Devil” is one of my favourites; mixing hard with Scandinavian AOR this one is pure adrenalin via stabbing synths, a steady rhythm section and sharp guitars (including a great solo). It must be pointed Dagfinn Joensen’s awesome vocal performance, one of the highest virtues of this recording.If the previous songs are fantastic, then the pair “Bridges Are Burning” and “Feel Like Making Love” are even better. The former jumps via terrific guitar / keyboard chains of wonder, the latter is a heavenly melodious piece of Hard / AOR in the best Scandi tradition with a foot-tapping hook and a luxury chorus.Both highlights.“Gambler” is another solid one, mid-tempo paced and with a modern Melodic Rock vibe rich in keyboards, where the instrumentation is slightly more separated to provide variation, followed by the simple yet effective power ballad “Hard to Say Goodbye” with acoustic guitars, pianos and crowned by a short but intense solo.We’re at track 6 and you feel this is an album to purchase and keep.On the second half we find Fate, as mentioned earlier, trying new sounds on some songs.All are stamped with the band’s signature style, but the guitars are tuned down a little as on the groovy “Made of Stone”. The marching “Man Against The Wall” has a structure recalling mid-eighties post NWOBHM era but rounded with a modern sound.“My World” reminds me nineties British TEN (Gary Hughes), the moody “Turn Back Time” is quite melodic and “Taught to Kill” is the heavier song on the CD with strong riffs and mysterious keyboards. “Gimme All Your Love” close the album in modern Melodic-Hard way akin the present Swedish scene like Tommy Denander.Some my argue that “If Not For The Devil” is a mixed bag, but to me is a fantastic album by Fate. With a ‘mixed bag’ I mean rabid AORsters will love the first 6 songs and perhaps not so much the second half of the disc. Wrong.Fate conjure on this album their melodic ’80s origins (AOR / Melodic Rock) with the band’s more edgy, harder Nineties era. And works greatly. You have awesome, classic catchy Scandi tunes and then more groovy rockers, something like side A / side B.There’s a sharp production, never boring songwriting, tight musicianship and a jaw-dropping vocalist who works in perfect sync with Fate’s diverse musical orientation here. What else can you ask for?
Line Up:
Dagfinn Joensen – Vocals
Torben Enevoldsen – Guitars, Vocals (backing)
Peter Steincke – Bass
Jens Berglid – Drums
Mikkel Henderson – Keyboards
Production:
Recorded At – Jailhouse Studio, Denmark
Mixed At – Jailhouse Studio, Denmark
Mastered At – Jailhouse Studio, Denmark
Executive-Producer – Heidi Johansson
Performer – Fate
Producer – Fate , Tommy Hansen
Tracklist:
01. Reaping (2023 Remastered Version)
02. If Not For The Devil (2023 Remastered Version)
03. Bridges Are Burning (2023 Remastered Version)
04. Feel Like Making Love (2023 Remastered Version)
05. Gambler (2023 Remastered Version)
06. Hard To Say Goodbye (2023 Remastered Version)
07. Made Of Stone (2023 Remastered Version)
08. Man Against The Wall (2023 Remastered Version)
09. My World (2023 Remastered Version)
10. Turn Back Time (2023 Remastered Version)
11. Taught To Kill (2023 Remastered Version)
12. Gimme All Your Love (2023 Remastered Version)
13. Chasing The Dragon (Previously Unreleased) (Bonus Track)
+ Video "Feel Like Making Love" (Official Video)
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
