FM celebrates its 40th anniversary by releasing a brand new studio album and I am here to state the obvious. What do I mean? Those who have even a superficial relationship with the AOR/melodic rock genre know very well that the name of FM is synonymous with quality! We are talking about a band that releases only good albums that always leave behind 1-2 classic songs. This is the reality and if you think about it, it’s really hard especially in this time and age. “Old Habits Die Hard” is not only no exception but it gets extra points…of difficulty as it was recorded under the shadow of Chris Overland’s death keyboardist Jem Davis’ courageous battle with cancer. And yet FM not only didn’t get discouraged, but we could easily say that they persevered by composing again only excellent songs that bear the indelible stamp of the band’s classic sound.
In essence, “Old Habits…” is a musical canvas where we find all the elements of FM’s 40-year career. From the ever-characteristic AOR melodies and catchy choruses to the more bluesy elements, it is more than certain that the album will satisfy all fans of the band and of melodic hard rock in general to a superlative degree. And all of this…takes off due to the incredible voice of Steve Overland who has definitely found the fountain of youth and the flawless performance in the studio by all the other members of FM.
Every single fan of the melodic rock genre should definitely buy “Old Habits Die Hard”…it’s that simple! It’s an album that makes us proud and I personally hope that we will be here in ten years to celebrate FM’s 50th anniversary! Congratulations guys!
Highlight: Jim Kirkpatrick has come up with a phenomenal guitar solo on “Black Water”.
