UMUR
"Single Ticket to Paradise" is the fifth full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Hearse. The album was released through Vic Records in June 2009. It´s the successor to "In These Veins" from 2006.
Stylistically the material on "Single Ticket to Paradise" continue the rock´n´roll infused melodic death metal of the preceding releases. Lead vocalist Johan Liiva has a raw voice and a rather distinct sounding delivery, which is somewhere between a raw shout and death metal growling. The music features hard rocking heavy death metal riffs, blues rock/rock´n´roll oriented lead work, and quite a few harmony parts (which are really great and incredibly well played). Hearse are obviously just as influenced by 70s hard/heavy rock artists like Thin Lizzy and Wishbone Ash, as they are by artists like Entombed and Dismember.
The sound production is slightly more clear sounding and detailed than the sound on the predecessor, and the tracks prosper from more clarity. This is still a pretty raw and organic sounding production job though, so don´t expect a sterile sounding album. Upon conclusion I feel the same way about "Single Ticket to Paradise" as I did about "In These Veins (2006)". It´s a good quality release, but it doesn´t quite reach the quality mark of the early releases by the band. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.