Not many hard rock bands from the eighties have aged as gracefully as Europe has. Ever since they reunited in the early 2000s, they have been releasing music that is neither desperately clinging to their own past, nor are they trying too hard to get with the times. Instead, their post-reunion output is probably best described as classic rock captured with twenty-first century production techniques. ‘Come This Madness’ is no different, though it has to be said that the album feels a bit fresher and tighter compared to its two predecessors ‘War of Kings’ (2015) and ‘Walk the Earth’ (2017).

Obviously, nine years have passed since ‘Walk the Earth’, and that will inevitably have an impact on how the album sounds. Strangely though, the band sounds younger than they have in a good while, right down to the voice of Joey Tempest sounding rejuvenated. What stands out to me most, however, is the additional bite John Norum has in his guitar sound and the prominent place bassist John Levén has in the mix. As a whole, Europe sounds like a band with something to prove on ‘Come This Madness’, which isn’t all too common among veteran bands.

That much was already obvious when opening track ‘One on One’ was released as the album’s first single. Driven by a powerful bass riff doubled by the guitars, as well as a fantastic chorus, it’s easily their greatest single since ‘Last Look at Eden’ seventeen years ago, possibly even longer. In a way, the song is the blueprint for every song on ‘Come This Madness’, as they all have a memorable riff and a chorus with cool vocal harmonies. The way they color the songs in just varies from track to track. And it mostly works incredibly well.

As much as the first half of ‘Come This Madness’ is fully of punchy, single-worthy rockers, the album truly hits its stride near the end. This starts with the sprightly rocker ‘Takin’ It Back’, which is similar to the earlier tracks compositionally, but a bit darker in tone. Great solo by Norum as well. Even darker is the closing track ‘Nothing Can Follow This’, which is a brilliantly subdued rocker that gets better with every spin. Right before that, there is a nice, dynamic rocker with mid-tempo shuffle rhythms in the shape of ‘The Devil’s Back’, which is more or less as bluesy as ‘Come This Madness’ gets.

Forget that Europe is the band that released ‘The Final Countdown’, go into ‘Come This Madness’ expecting nothing else than a good rock album, and chances are it will exceed your expectations. For what it’s worth: I have been following the band since their reunion, and even I was surprised at how good ‘Come This Madness’ is. There is some great playing on the album; Norum’s solos are fantastic without exception and I like how Mic Michaeli approaches keyboard arrangements here. But the true stars here are the songs. Highly recommended to everyone who loves good melodies and spirited performances.

Recommended tracks: ‘Takin’ It Back’, ‘One on One’, ‘Nothing Can Follow This’