Secret Society

Secret Society is a work on which EUROPE pushed further the heavier, darker direction of their post-reunion phase. John Norum’s guitar rings sharply and bluesily, and Joey Tempest’s singing keeps its flair while adding shadow to the songs. It is a record that further deepened the direction shown on the previous album. On “Secret Society,” “Always the Pretenders” and “Devil Sings the Blues,” rather than simply repeating the 1980s mass sing-along, they draw a new face of the band with weighty riffs and tense arrangement. Songs like “Let the Children Play” and “Human After All” breathe the band’s full expressiveness too. On this record, a matured EUROPE moves forward while carrying its own history — conveying the fullness of the restarted phase.