Customer Reviews

Wings of Tomorrow

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I owned 'The Final Countdown' for years. I bought the album 'The Miracle' of hard rock/Power metal band 'Prime Time'. It countained an excellent remake of 'Seven Doors Hotel' which is on the first untitled Europe album.

Before that, I never looked at the other albums of Europe. I order the two preceeding 'The Final Countdown' and this is the first one I received. In a word, 'Wings of Tomorrow' is FAR greater than what I excpected. I feel like I found an almost-new band. Now it seems to me like Europe is more a heavy/power metal band to me than what I always thought. Listen to 'Scream of Anger' THERE IS DOUBLE BASS DRUMMING. Of course it's not Nicholas Barker (dimmu borgir). But it's clearly power metal. You have to hear the remake of Arch Enemy, though I much prefer the Europe version.

I hear a lot of early Judas Priest (don't think Halford) in here too. Or maybe it's just me. Of course there are bits of what is to be the follow up 'The Final Countdown'.

The vocals of Joey is less in the nose as on 'The Final...'. It sounds better I think.

I recommend this album to anyone who likes powerful 80s metal. Can't wait to hear the first album. Hope it will arrive soon.

Europe's 1984 sophomore effort, "Wings of tomorrow" is one of the more underrated metal albums from the `80s and is considered the band's masterwork by many fans, including myself. It sold very well in Sweden and Japan, but it would be a couple more years before the band became well known to the rest of the world with their breakthrough song and album "The final countdown". This album showcases the band at the height of its heavy metal prowess before entering the pop metal world later on. The songs are definitely more suited for live performance than for Top 40 radio.

The album is solid from start to finish. There is great live energy, strong vocal performances by Joey Tempest and contains some of the most memorable shredding by John Norum. His guitar solos are nothing short of magnificent throughout this album, especially on "Wasted Time", "Lyin' Eyes", "Aphasia" and the title track. "Scream of anger" is another highlight. A fast and furious song that the band still plays live to this day. The ballads "Dreamer" and "Open your heart" are well done. It's a little known fact that "Open your heart" was the first Europe song to get airplay in the US, receiving limited exposure on some AOR stations. Four years later it was rerecorded for the "Out of this world" album (1988), but the second version didn't have quite the same magic as the original.

It's too bad "Wings of tomorrow" wasn't the album that first introduced Europe to the mainstream world. Had it been, I think the band would have had stronger rock credibility, and maybe could have built a stronger legacy. There's a saying: "You never get a second chance to make a first impression". Let's hope there will be an exception to that rule, as Europe have reemerged with 2004's "Start from the dark" which is a strong return to the band's heavy metal roots (with a more modern touch). I strongly recommend both albums to fans that like it HARD and HEAVY!

I love this album. Sure it's got some dud songs on it and is a little more American sounding. But when you get Dreamer on the same album as Wings of Tomorrow and Scream of Anger you know your dealing with a band that actually has feeling.

The force with which the rockers hit my (then) teenage mind cannot be overestimated. Joey Tempests lyrics are at times fun loving and at other times deadly serious. He had really hit his stride and the band sound fully focussed on this release.

Some people hated their next album, The Final Countdown, but if it wasn't for the success of that album most people wouldn't of gotten to hear that this album and it's predecessor existed. and that would be a real shame.

Wings of Tomorrow, the second full-length album from the Swedish band Europe, contains a good set of material. Released in 1984, there's a total of ten tracks included--one of these ("Aphasia") is an instrumental. There are also two power ballads ("Open Your Heart," "Dreamer"). All of the music is in a straight-ahead hard rock vein. Overall, the musicianship is good, the songwriting is worthy, and the sound quality is satisfying. I find all of the cuts to be listenable. I like Joey Tempest's singing--he's a talented, unique, and clear-voiced vocalist. John Norum also does a skillful job with the guitar playing duties. Keyboards, played by Mic Michaeli, are only used to a modest degree throughout. Examples of some of the tracks that I enjoy are the power ballad "Open Your Heart," the instrumental "Aphasia," and the title track "Wings of Tomorrow." "Open Your Heart" is a nice song that features a good guitar solo from Norum. The regal-sounding "Aphasia," one of my favorite instrumentals, is concise and displays impressive guitar work. "Wings of Tomorrow" is an energetic one that sports a pleasing chorus and a tight guitar solo. The opening tune, "Stormwind," is catchy and contains a well-constructed guitar solo. I also enjoy the flowing guitar solo to the lively "Wasted Time." The guys also do well with the power ballad "Dreamer." It has a smooth chorus and a gratifying guitar solo. The CD packaging doesn't include the song lyrics. I like the CD cover artwork of the bird of prey--it's creative and interesting. The back of the CD insert (containing the same illustration as the one on the back of the CD jewel case) shows people riding in outer space on the backs of birds toward a blue planet. The CD is almost 39 minutes in duration. Wings of Tomorrow is a good album from Europe.

This album is diffently a keeper. It has all of the sounds and the feel of the 1980's.Buy this one along with "the final countdown"

Europe is a little heavier with a rawer production on this album. John Norum is a great guitar player and he plays well on this album. The instrumental "Aphasia" is a good example of how he plays. "Open your Heart" is a good ballad, and the title song "Wings of Tomorrow" is pretty heavy with a good vocal chorus. Not as good as The Final Countdown, but still is a good album.

Man, I really love the first two Europe albums. OK, I love all of Europe's albums, but Wings of Tomorrow and the 1983 self-titled debut hold a special place in my heart. Like most people, I discovered Europe when the Final Countdown hit the airwaves, but it was the budget-priced cassettes of the band's first albums that I played to the breaking point.

Far from the super-polished melodic rock sound of The Final Countdown and Out of This World, Europe's 1984 album Wings of Tomorrow sounds more like a regionally displaced NWOBHM band than anything else. Songs like Stormwind, Scream of Anger, the killer instrumental track Aphasia, and of course Wings of Tomorrow are straight-up metal tracks that wouldn't have been out of place on a Diamond Head album. The rest of the album is made up of more standard love song fare, but they're still fairly hard rocking songs. The ballad Open Your Heart could have been a big hit if anyone outside of Sweden had heard it. In fact, the band re-recorded it for their 1988 album Out of This World.

Overall this is a very solid album, and is probably Europe's best release (until the tragically overlooked Prisoners in Paradise at any rate). The only real drawback is the album's poor production quality. Put this one in the CD changer with some more recent discs and you'll quickly find that you need almost double the volume to hear it.

I'm sure there are some casual fans who will be content with the Final Countdown or one of the band's many greatest hits compilations, but Wings of Tomorrow is a must-have for all serious Europe fans, as well as being one of the decade's more underrated metal albums.

Edition Notes: Wounded Bird reissued Wings of Tomorrow (along with Europe) in 2009. Unlike most Wounded Bird reissues, the Europe albums actually have been remastered, and sound noticeably better than the original issues. It's not as impressive the average EMI remaster (their reissues of Saxon, MSG and Scorpions sound amazing), but I replaced my older version of and am quite pleased with the improved sound quality.

Actually, I give this record 3 1/2 stars. For those of you who follow my writing, you know that I lean towards heavier stuff like Megadeth and King Diamond. But this record shows that lighter music can have charm too. Despite the moderate intensity of this record, it does have a distinctive edge. I commend this group for not hiding behind excess noise, obscenities, or issues that wore thin a long time ago. Tracks like 'Stormwind' and 'Wings of Tomorrow' will grab your attention. Tracks like 'Open Your Heart' and 'Dreamer' will show you that sometimes it's the art and not the noise that makes for good music. 'Aphasia' is a good instrumental. Overall, the record has good consistency, a nice edge, and some beauty as well. Would I have taken an hour drive to an expensive 'you name it, we got it' place just for this? Probably not. But if you are able to find it, I do suggest giving it a chance. Is this my favorite record? No. But I will say I think it's A LOT better than a lot of recent stuff. This may not be my favorite group. But at least they care about the art of music. Also, their music is not just a big commercial racket. Give this record a chance. You won't be sorry.

Top to bottom, the best Europe release, by far. If you're a fan of '80s metal, but aren't sure about Europe because all you heard was the schlock of Final Countdown (good schlock, but schlock nonetheless), buy this. Not a bad track here. Guitarist John Norum is outstanding. Check out his outstanding solo CD as well, called "Total Control" ... Went on to be a quite able replacement for George Lynch in Dokken.

This CD holds the original version of "Open Your Heart" which was bastardized two CDs later. "Aphasia" is one of the best metal instrumentals of all time - and "Dreamer" is one of my favorite mellow tunes of the era/genre.

This is the second album by Europe, on a remastered CD. Europe would of course achieve their big breakthrough in 1984 with their AOR-oriented third album, The Final Countdown. By comparison, Wings of Tomorrow (1982) is much more of a hard rock effort. Still, it contains some fine songs, which hold up very well almost three decades later. Lead singer / songwriter Joey Tempest had an intuitive gift for melody, which really comes through on this album. The title track, along with Storm Wind and Scream of Anger are the most metallic songs, and feature powerful guitar work by John Norum. Some of the others are a bit slower, but still very engaging. This is an underrated CD. The only caveat is that at nine songs and one short instrumental, it runs only 38 minutes. Of the two editions that are currently available, the mastering on the UK version is superior, and closer to the original sound.