Swedish artist-Christian Liljegren is a very active and well recognized vocalist in the Metal community. With 35 years of experience and 40 albums under his belt, Christian Liljegren has made his mark in the the Metal/Hard Rock realm. Throughout his career, Christian has worked with some well known & well respected bands like Audiovision, Narnia, Divinefire, Flagship, Wisdom Call, Golden Resurrection, Borderline, Modest Attraction, The Waymaker, Venture, Beautiful Mind, and Trinity. With any vocalist that has built a name for themselves, eventually they are going to release the inevitable solo project where they can spread their wings and let the creative juices flow more freely.
As mentioned above, over the years, Christian Liljegren has been very active in the music industry. Not only has he fronted many bands as lead vocalist but has also created various record labels including Rivel Records, Liljegren Records, Melodic Passion Records, and Doolittle Group. Christian Liljegren not only creates music but has a passion for preserving it as well. His passion for music has resulted in him working closely with Narnia bassist-Jonatan Samuelsson of Nostalgic Roxx Records. The label was born with the sole purpose of "re-launching rock music from yesterday".
As mentioned above, over the years, Christian Liljegren has been very active in the music industry. Not only has he fronted many bands as lead vocalist but has also created various record labels including Rivel Records, Liljegren Records, Melodic Passion Records, and Doolittle Group. Christian Liljegren not only creates music but has a passion for preserving it as well. His passion for music has resulted in him working closely with Narnia bassist-Jonatan Samuelsson of Nostalgic Roxx Records. The label was born with the sole purpose of "re-launching rock music from yesterday".
In 2021 Christian Liljegren released his full-length studio solo album titled 'Melodic Passion' on Melodic Passion Records. With this release we find Christian drawing inspiration for his album's title cut from his own record label's title. The recording was produced by Stephen Carlson and co-produced by Christian Liljegren and Viktor Stenquist. This release is sure to capture the attention of fans who are into bands like Europe and Narnia. The melodic arrangements found on this disc, deliver a slurry mix of differing Metal genres from Power Metal to Hard Rock just to mention a few. However, Christian doesn't steer far from what fans have come to love about his past music endeavors.
With this solo project, Christian sought out some additional help from artists he has met in the field including guitarist-Stephen Carlson, bassist-Per Schelander(House of Shakira), keyboardist-Olov Andersson(Audiovision, Veni Domine), and drummer-Andreas Johansson(Narnia).
With this solo project, Christian sought out some additional help from artists he has met in the field including guitarist-Stephen Carlson, bassist-Per Schelander(House of Shakira), keyboardist-Olov Andersson(Audiovision, Veni Domine), and drummer-Andreas Johansson(Narnia).
The only criticisms I have with this release lie in the area of the album's lyrics along with some areas where the vocals are brought down and become much softer. This cheese element permeates within some of the tracks and could have been easily rectified by simply choosing a more clever or more artistic approach to the lyric's within these areas. With that said, not all songs are infected with the "cheese virus" allowing the listener to enjoy some solid well written songs.
Some tracks that stand out on this solo project include track-2 "Salute For The King", track-3 "The Rock", track-5 "The Victory", track-6 "Dead Or Alive", track-7 "I Breathe", and track-8 "History".
Some tracks that stand out on this solo project include track-2 "Salute For The King", track-3 "The Rock", track-5 "The Victory", track-6 "Dead Or Alive", track-7 "I Breathe", and track-8 "History".
Stephen Carlson(Brotthogg, Tales) handles guitars for the band and does a good job of delivering up varying styles of guitar play. Throughout this release one will find that the guitars move from Hard Rock styles to Power Metal to Classic Metal styles from the 70's & 80's and rounds things out with some acoustic Spanish-guitar play.
Lyrics are Christ centered as one can see in the following excerpts:
"Melodic Passion"
I still remember the day when the music opened the door to my heart
A God given gift from heaven above
Falling in love right away.
This is real what I feel
The melodies healing my soul
This is real what I feel
The melodies healing my soul
"Salute For The King"
Melodic music drives me through
Like thunder and lightning
Come on let's sing
We are here
Give salute for the King
This time we win
We sing forever
Give salute for the King
"The Rock"
I stand on the rock
I hear you calling
I'll never stop
I stand on the rock
The final warning
I'll never stop
Looking for answers
In the final hour
Where is my heart?
Where is my soul?
I believe in the son of God
The cross marks the way
I still believe, I'm proud to say, I'm proud to say
"This Is My Love Song"
This is my love song
To all my dear ones
My heart and prayers to you
This is my love song
To all my dear ones
My heart and prayers to you
We are living together
You are precious ones for me
Every day, every second of my life
We are crying and laughing
Together we are one
It´s to you my dear ones to whom I belong
I still remember the day when the music opened the door to my heart
A God given gift from heaven above
Falling in love right away.
This is real what I feel
The melodies healing my soul
This is real what I feel
The melodies healing my soul
"Salute For The King"
Melodic music drives me through
Like thunder and lightning
Come on let's sing
We are here
Give salute for the King
This time we win
We sing forever
Give salute for the King
"The Rock"
I stand on the rock
I hear you calling
I'll never stop
I stand on the rock
The final warning
I'll never stop
Looking for answers
In the final hour
Where is my heart?
Where is my soul?
I believe in the son of God
The cross marks the way
I still believe, I'm proud to say, I'm proud to say
"This Is My Love Song"
This is my love song
To all my dear ones
My heart and prayers to you
This is my love song
To all my dear ones
My heart and prayers to you
We are living together
You are precious ones for me
Every day, every second of my life
We are crying and laughing
Together we are one
It´s to you my dear ones to whom I belong
If you are into bands like Narnia, Europe, Deep Purple, and Whitesnake then you are going to love what Christian has offered up with his latest solo project 'Melodic Passion'. Help support Christian Metal music by picking up your copy of 'Melodic Passion' today!
Purchases can be made at any of the following links:
Musicians:
Christian Liljegren(Narnia, The Waymaker) - Lead Vocals
Stephen Carlson(Brotthogg, Tales) - Guitars
Per Schelander(House of Shakira) - Bass
Olov Andersson(Audiovision, Veni Domine) - Keyboards
Andreas Johansson(Narnia) - Drums
Guest Musicians:
Svante Henryson - Cello
Christian Liljegren(Narnia, The Waymaker) - Lead Vocals
Stephen Carlson(Brotthogg, Tales) - Guitars
Per Schelander(House of Shakira) - Bass
Olov Andersson(Audiovision, Veni Domine) - Keyboards
Andreas Johansson(Narnia) - Drums
Guest Musicians:
Svante Henryson - Cello