FM: Heroes And Villains

It’s the AOR album of the year!

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With Heroes And Villains, FM have delivered their best album since late-80s classics Indiscreet and Tough It Out. They made a fine comeback in 2010 with Metropolis, followed three years later by not one but two strong albums, Rockville and Rockville II. But the new one is even better, a top melodic hard-rock record.

There are great songs throughout. Digging Up The Dirt is a super-sized anthem with a sleazy-sounding riff matching the song’s subject matter – the tabloid press.

Call On Me is effortlessly brilliant pop rock. Incredible and Walking With Angels are beautifully crafted ballads. There is also some epic and atmospheric stuff in Fire & Rain and Big Brother.

With singer Steve Overland sounding just as good now as he did in the 80s, FM are still a class act./o:p

Paul Elliott
Paul Elliott

Freelance writer for Classic Rock since 2005, Paul Elliott has worked for leading music titles since 1985, including Sounds, Kerrang!, MOJO and Q. He is the author of several books including the first biography of Guns N’ Roses and the autobiography of bodyguard-to-the-stars Danny Francis. He has written liner notes for classic album reissues by artists such as Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy and Kiss, and currently works as content editor for Total Guitar. He lives in Bath - of which David Coverdale recently said: “How very Roman of you!”