Metal Will Stand Tall

Metal Will Stand Tall, released in May 2006, is the debut on which The Poodles combined wide-open choruses, glittering keyboards and hard guitars. The band came together in Stockholm the previous autumn. Jakob Samuel was asked to sing “Night of Passion” at Melodifestivalen, called in Christian Lundqvist on drums, and Pontus Egberg and Pontus Norgren joined to make a hastily assembled four-piece. Samuel had been Talisman's drummer, and Norgren came from the same band. They finished fourth in the contest — but “Night of Passion” hit No. 2 in Sweden, went gold in three weeks and later platinum, and was the most downloaded song three weeks running. The title track, a duet with Tess Merkel of Alcazar, went gold. “Kingdom of Heaven” was co-written by Samuel and Talisman's founder Marcel Jacob. Outside writers including Holly Knight contributed, and track eight is a cover of Ultravox's “Dancing with Tears in My Eyes.” A glamorous, unhesitating record that concentrates the fun of melodic hard rock.