Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, multi-instrumental wizard Andre Andersen has been the driving force behind his main band, Royal Hunt, for over a decade, but he also has a solo side project, started soon after he fired vocalist DC Cooper from Royal Hunt. On his solo albums, he does not sing either. Under his own name he has three releases: two -- being metal "Changing Skin" (1998) and "Black On Black" (2002), and one -- a classical instrumental album, "Oceanview" (2003). Currently, the project is in limbo, but on the second album it involved Ian Parry (vocals, lead singer for Elegy and Parry's Consortium Project), Rene Rieland (guitar), Kaj Laege (drums), and Andre Andersen himself (keyboards, guitars, bass).
CHANGING SKIN (1998)
RATING: ***1/2
BEST SONGS: title track, "Never Look Back," "Wings Of Tomorrow"
Very similar to Andersen's work with Royal Hunt, with vocalist Kenny Lubcke being very similar to both DC and John West. "Changing Skin" is one butter-smooth album, and the music has all the familiar influences from Deep Purple, U.F.O., and others. Songs go from ballady to fast but the silky smoothness remains. The album's highest point is the wonderfully-crafted title magnum opus. Andre is more occupied with arrangements and melodies than with rocking, but "Changing Skin" remains metal enough not to scare the fans of the genre. Still, some bite would not have hurt.
BLACK ON BLACK (2002)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Coming Home," "Life," title track
Basically, what Yngwie Malmsteen is to guitar, Andre Andersen is to the synths, and BoB is a testament to the man's desire to play what he wants to play: neoclassical melodic prog metal. Ian Parry (Elegy, Parry's Consortium Project) is slightly rougher than either DC, West, or Lubcke, which I would normally welcome, but his nasal tone I find rather annoying. But the music is still everything you would expect. When Andre & Co. demonstrate some energy and speed, these songs become immediate highlights: such are "Coming Home" and "Life," especially the latter, with its tumbling drive. Everything else fits the bill as well, with "Desperate Times," "Sail Away," and "Piece Of My Heart" easily fitting on the Royal Hunt cds like "Paradox", "Fear", or "Eye Witness" (not quite so much on "The Mission", due to its futuristic production). Bottom line: it's not going to surprise you in any way, but what doesn't surprise you, you will still enjoy to a great degree. The problem that I have with Andre is (A) he shows very little variety in his music and (B) "Black On Black", John West's "Earth Maker", and "The Mission" all raised the bar so high that RH's follow-up, "Eye Witness", had a very hard time matching.
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