Europe is one of my much beloved bands. I am a fan of their 80s albums, I enjoy listening to their sole studio effort of the 90s and I highly appreciate their growth and evolution after the reunion and all three previous records in the 00s. I was certain that Europe’s new album “Bag of Bones” would definitely have a lot of new things to offer but it seems that this wasn’t enough in regards with the final sonic outcome…

Right from the first listening session, it becomes obvious that Europe has chosen to follow the pure 70s blues rock root thus honoring their influences that include elements right from the Purple, Lizzy and Zeppelin vault. Truth must be told here as this was something evident from the band’s previous offering (“Last Look At Eden”, 2009). The difference with that album was that Europe had maintained their trademark musical riffs and choruses…something that really misses this time around. That’s the negative aspect of “Bag of Bones”. It’s not that I was taken aback by their decision to follow their 70s roots but I was disappointed in their decision not to include the familiar Europe sonic traces.  
 
It’s a healthy move for a musician to evolve his sound but it’s definitely not a good sign if he chooses to do so without staying true to his own music. I really hope that Europe will return with a…Europe record.
 
Highlight: An inspired and clever cover sleeve, however…
 

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