The excellent band SALEM hails from Hull, UK. This British NWOBHM band was formed in way back in 1979. The band released singles and demos, but only in 2010 their original recordings were released on a single album named “In The Beginning”. The band’s new album, “Forgotten Dreams”, which will feature fresh material, is about to unleashed.

This album’s gush of brilliance had me admiring some tracks that were hard to dismiss. “When Love Is In Your Heart”, a pictorial of late 70’s Classic Rock experiencing modern vibes with killer riffery, catchy with hard biting drums. “High Stakes” is heading down the road to melodic NWOBHN, easily memorable like old IRON MAIDEN but with SAXON oriented vocals singing choruses that might remind you of WHITESNAKE. The opener “Forgotten Dreams” is probably the band’s most accessible tune, demonstrating Simon Saxby’s ultimate voice, this is how NWOBHM should sound in 2013. “X-Rated“ is one of the heavy riff based tunes, crushing with a magnificent solo break, rhythm section ignited with the spirit of old JUDAS PRIEST. Fantastic slow tempo featured on the harmonic “Ask The Lonely”, revealing a 70’s Hard Rock vibe striking it a bit early 80’s with several influences of early OZZY OSBOURNE and his period with BLACK SABBATH. Also worth to listen are: “The Best Is Yet To Come” with a few AOR signatures, “This Heart Is Mine” the album’s ballad in an old fashioned Hard Rock “Reach To Eternity” featuring amazing riffs following the classy vintage colors of DEEP PURPLE.

Summing up, SALEM created outstanding music and they proved that they can to play fantastic powerful songs, conspiring to retain their old NWOBHM image with Hard Rock. Their melodic perception is something else, along with carving several numbers on one’s skin for later use. “Forgotten Dreams” and old SALEM fans will be captivated to hear their idols in perfect form with great material.