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Mattsson, Lars Eric: The Outsider
 Prolific guitarist Lars Eric Mattsson has a multitude of albums under his belt over his thirty-plus years in the business, most released on his own Lion Music imprint. A musician in the neoclassical/ hard rock style, comparisons will inevitably be made to Yngwie J Malmsteen, but to my ears Mattsson is a more restrained player, and certainly on The Outsider he has constructed a series of songs that work by themselves, rather than just as basic building blocks for a load of shredding and soloing. At 81 minutes, this is a lengthy effort, but there is plenty of variety-whilst most tracks are either in the melodic power metal or classic hard rock vein, Mattsson isn’t afraid to branch out a bit -witness the funky basslines and guitar stabs on the aptly-named “I’ve Got The Funk”. The songs generally run from ‘OK’ to ‘good’ -no huge standouts, but no real clunkers either.
The vocals are probably the weak point of the album. There are numerous guest vocalists here, not all of whom I would say have the strongest voices. Highlights are probably the dependable Goran Edman on “Now And Forever” and Daphne Nisi on the decent ballad “Where Are We Going?”, which also features some atmospheric classical guitar work. Mattsson himself takes quite a few lead vocals himself; his voice can be best described as ‘unusual’, sounding a bit like Jon Anderson put through some kind of voice processing software. Whilst not bad as such it does distract a bit from the songs it is used on. There are also three instrumentals where, free of vocals, Mattsson’s guitar work really shines through, with the brooding title track being a particular highlight.
Overall, Mattsson does just about succeed in keeping the listener interested despite the length of the album, but it might still have worked better chopped down to 11 or 12 of the strongest numbers. Production could also be improved; the guitar dominates as you expect, with vocals sometimes muffled and rhythm section very low in the mix. I am sure however if you already a confirmed Mattsson fan this album will certainly be of interest, whilst fans of great guitar playing will certainly find plenty to their liking here.
Tracklist:
01. The Sun Coming Down
02. Keep This Flame Alive
03. Gold Digger
04. It’s Too Late
05. Now and Forever
06. Into the Battle
07. Fantasmas
08. Raise My Sword
09. Who Are We Foolin’?
10. The Road I’ve Chosen
11. Where Are We Going?
12. Stare Into the Abyss
13. I’ve Got the Funk
14. The Outsider
15. We All Bleed for Love (Vikings)
16. Broken Heart Blues
17. Vicky’s Eyes (2021 Version)
18. A Flat Earth
19. Sometimes I Wonder
Added: March 3rd 2022
Reviewer: Tom De Val
Score: 
Related Link: Artist Facebook Page
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Language: english
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Mattsson, Lars Eric: The Outsider
Posted by Steven Reid, SoT Staff Writer on 2022-03-04 00:30:44
My Score:
Guitarist, songwriter and some-time singer Lars Eric Mattsson remains incredibly prolific, and in recent times has released an album of neo-classical inspired hard rock every couple of years or so. His latest outing, the 19 track double album The Outsider, arrived in 2021 and as is often the way with these type of releases, features numerous singers helping to bring Mattsson’s work to life. The biggest name from those vocalists is probably Goran Edman and, with all due respect to all of the other front-people involved, I’d suggest that had he handled all of the vocals on this album, then The Outsider may have become a really solid effort. As it is, unfortunately, while the guitar work is as stellar as you’d expect, the singing across this outing doesn’t always match those high standards.
The track that Edman does handle, “Now And Forever”, shows what might have been here, with it being a truly emotional slower number where piano and a clever background guitar riff combine to allow the vocals to truly soar. It may be one of the most restrained offerings on show, but it’s undoubtedly one of the strongest, with a slight Bon Jovi tearjerker flavour about it - although this track is much more regal than Jon and the boys could ever hope for. Elsewhere, the other slowie, “Sometimes I Wonder”, with Elisa Pezzuti on the mic, fares well, the singer a strong choice for the hypnotic, steady rhythm. Unsurprisingly, the guitar playing is often the real star, but as ever with Mattsson’s solo work, cleverly, this is never at the expense of the song itself, with “Into The Battle” a forceful rocker that shakes you hard, while “Raise The Sword” is underpinned more by synths than the six-string - although I’m not sure that Adrienn Antal was the correct vocal choice for this particular track. That said, when the solo does kick in, it’s a beauty. And that’s the rub for me here, because I know that the days of the neo-classical shredder are pretty much behind us now, but I’d personally have much preferred a stronger focus on that side of things than the more standard song structures that we end up receiving.
Add in that The Outsider and its 81 minutes worth of music feels almost twice the length that it needs to be and while there’s nothing here that falls below the required standard, neither is there a sequence of tracks that fully hold the attention. A factor that in the end makes this album much less memorable than it undoubtedly had the potential to be.
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