Martina Edoff
Unity
(Into Records)

Championing the power of the self-worth, big singable chorus, and indestructible melodies we get ‘The Nordic Queen of Rock,” Martina Edoff’s new album, Unity. Bleeding keys, heavy riffing guitar and the big drums of the title track lead us off. Though the long-haired brunette doesn’t live in Sweden presently (and has been and will continue to be on the road this year and next), Martina does admit there is a specific Swedish vibe to her classic hard rock. “The music I make depends on heavy, good instrumentation and clear, pop-like melodies,” she says. This can be heard throughout Unity in such songs as “Never Let You Down” with its heavy keyboard strikes, Martina utilizing her lower range and singable chorus (almost ABBA-like) and on the single “World Has Gone Mad,” a big 80’s sway with an in-your-face-lyric. It’s not surprising Martina claims quite an affection for bands of a certain era. “I’m a huge fan of American classic rock music like Heart, Journey, all that 80’s melodic hard rock is a huge influence to my ear,” she claims. Don’t think that this lady can’t belt out a ballad when she wants. The piano-led “Moment of Truth” is a solid power ballad, but I feel Martina is mostly a rocker, giving her heavy-weight voice to hard tunes, coming off a self-imposed semi-retirement that saw her reexamine her life, while working in a field wholly unrelated to rock. “Chasing all my life all the time, I wanted to bring some change into my life,” she says. “So I worked as a life couch teaching people to find their own inner strength. From there I recharged to want to get out and do this again and do it with all I got.” Martina Edoff certainly is recharged and ready to rock on Unity.