Hardcore Superstar: C'mon Take On Me

Party-hard street metal from sleazy Swedes

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When it comes to conjuring up the perfect blend of hard rockin’ metal and Scandinavian sleaze, Hardcore Superstar have the skills to make it so. The quirky wildcard opener Cutting The Slack throws caution to the wind with its circus theme and nod to 70s prog but fear not because these Swedes haven’t forgotten how to write catchy party anthems.

C’mon… has an even more retro feel than previous offerings with its catchy harmonies, smooth licks and a motley crew of classic influences from The Quireboys to Alice Cooper, GN’R to AC/DC. This 12-track is packed with feelgood tunes and knowing lyrics; it has such a warm sound, it’s practically got its own pulse.

OK, so the lads have never really been able to replicate their classic crowd-pleaser We Don’t Celebrate Sundays but there’s plenty to get stuck into. From the Skid Row-alike Are You Gonna Cry Now to the Hanoi Rocks sensibilities of Too Much Business, this is all killer with no filler. C’mon… is the ultimate party soundtrack of 2013.

Natasha Scharf
Natasha Scharf
Deputy Editor, Prog

Contributing to Prog since the very first issue, writer and broadcaster Natasha Scharf was the magazine’s News Editor before she took up her current role of Deputy Editor, and has interviewed some of the best-known acts in the progressive music world from ELP, Yes and Marillion to Nightwish, Dream Theater and TesseracT. Starting young, she set up her first music fanzine in the late 80s and became a regular contributor to local newspapers and magazines over the next decade. The 00s would see her running the dark music magazine, Meltdown, as well as contributing to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Artrocker. Author of music subculture books The Art Of Gothic and Worldwide Gothic, she’s since written album sleeve notes for Cherry Red, and also co-wrote Tarja Turunen’s memoirs, Singing In My Blood. Beyond the written word, Natasha has spent several decades as a club DJ, spinning tunes at aftershow parties for Metallica, Motörhead and Nine Inch Nails. She’s currently the only member of the Prog team to have appeared on the magazine’s cover.