HIGHER GROUND: "A Thousand Pieces" The second full length CD from the Swedish group, Higher Ground. This is great melodic rock with a great vocals by Peter Lindberg. They have in a sort of way done their own style, but I can hear some great AOR influences. The album grows the more I have listened to it and the whole production is very tight. Track 3 "I Feel Alive" and track 5 "She`s Gone" is two of my favorites so far and I think after more of listening it will be more of favorites.

8/10.
Reviewed by Bengt

http://www.westcoast-music.com

HIGHER GROUND: "A Thousand Pieces"

AOR Heaven 2004

Review by Petri Kautto

15 November 2004 Melodic rock/AOR is the case here and the Swedes are at it. Peter Lindberg, Niklas Hammarberg, Ulf Merkell, Petter Eriksson and Erik Pettersson are Higher Ground and this is their second full length album. “A Thousand Pieces” will please melodic rock enthusiasts and AOR’sters will not be disappointed either. This album is steady in a sense that there are no weak efforts. Higher Ground is obviously a bunch of talented rockers and you can spin this in your CD a few times without wearing it out. On the other hand you don’t feel compelled to listen to it at all times. Thus in steadiness lies the strength but also the weakness of this album. My favourites on this album were “Speechless” with a bit uninteresting beginning but a knock-out chorus and one of the more rocking songs in this album, “Goodbye”, with an interesting bass-based beginning and a catchy refrain. There are quite a few mid-tempo / slowish songs which are all very decent songs, not really my favorites but I’m sure Higher Ground will find some fans with those ones. Still this is one of the strongest efforts that I’ve heard this year in this genre. http://www.higherground.nu/

http://www.rockunited.com

Higher Ground
A thousand pieces

The AOR label AOR Heaven releases a brand new album with the Swedish melodic rock act Higher Ground in Nov. This is slightly different from what we´re use to hear from this label. This is melodic rock with a touch of modern AOR.
“A thousand pieces” is Higher Ground´s 2nd full length album.They first released an EP called Keep On Walkin´ in 1997 and their debut album “Perfect Chaos” came out 4 years ago (2000). Higher Ground is a very promising band that will please fans of melodic rock/AOR. The choruses are very AORish on many of the tracks.
I would describe it as a mixture of Martin Stenmarck meets Prime Sth - flirting with AOR. The singer Peter Lindberg has a perfect and strong voice that really gives the songs a great touch. The production is very tight and melodic. The opening of the album is very strong with 4 strong tAracks that are really great, there are a few fillers in the middle of the album but in the end they deliver a few more winners.
“Speechless” is fantastic modern rock/pop song with a touch of AOR and has a very strong chorus with great hooklines. “Goodbye” is the highlight of the album. A brilliant up-tempo melodic rock song with wonderful guitarriffs and great harmony vocals. If you´re into Martin Stenmarck´s debut album then you will love the song “She Plays”, this is a song that has great melodies and a fine arrangement with a strong chorus. “Believe” is a beautiful piano ballad with strings and is a perfect song to chill out to and have a glass of red wine with your girlfriend.
This Swedish group is something we will see more of in the future and should be checked out by every fan that enjoys melodic rock flirting with AOR.
For those that usually purchases AOR Heaven albums and are waiting for a pure AOR album should take a notice and read this review because this is not a pure AOR album but still a damn good one.

Reviewed by: Juha

http://www.melodic.net

Higher Ground
A thousand pieces

I got this album in my hands a month ago, and since then it is my most played album. The first times I listened to A Thousand Pieces, I thought it sounded a bit tedious, but after a lot of listening I have changed my opinion about their music. It is always hard to pick out albums of all releases I receive, but I was very sure about this album from the beginning. When I sum up all releases in the Melodic Rock , AOR genre so far this year, this album turns out as
my absolute number one favorite! Higher Ground mix Melodic Rock, Pop/ Rock and AOR in a way I like very good. There are also elements of more Modern Rock and Hard Rock in their music. They have today their own style, but they still remind me of a blend of Neverland, Gaeleri, Southern Sons and Harem Scarem. The eleven songs are all very good with no fillers, their music takes a step away from most bands in this genre, and they sound different.
The album grows the more I have listened to it, and the variation from song to song is great! The melody lines and refrains are just superb and are stuck in my head, I often find myself humming to the songs. The first track, Inside Me, combines acoustic and electric guitars in an eminent way, the song are softer at the verses and rougher round the outstanding refrain part. Vocalist Peter Lindberg has a varied voice who is suitable for many styles, and on songs like Speechless, that sounds more Pop/ Rock oriented, he sings with a soft tone. But when the style changes like on the song Goodbye, who is more up tempo and rougher, he sings with a darker, rougher tone who is very good. She`s Gone is one of my favorites and is a song who in my opinion should have been on the top of the charts. It has a melody and refrain who is very memorable and the song itself I think reach a wide audience. The soft and beautiful Cry, the rougher U2 like Another Day, plus the very acoustic Believe and the last song The Genius are all superb songs! It`s a long time since I have heard an album of such good quality. So for fans of Melodic Rock, Pop/ Rock and AOR who are after something that is different you can go for this excellent release!

Reviewed by: Arne Asbolmo

Higher Ground
A thousand pieces

Higher Ground ett svenskt band som nu släpper sin andra fullängdare.Och som tur är så låter det inte svensktJ (=svensk rock: det har väl nästan blivit en svordom typ The Hives, Soundtrack Of Our Lives & andra tråkiga band). Higher Ground som var en ny bekantskap för mej överraskar stort med en härlig amerikansk rock med bra produktion och sångaren Peter Lindberg är mycket bra. Till favoriterna hör Inside Me & I Feel Alive som påminner om band som Live & Goo Goo Dolls. Speechless är lite åt Nuclear Valdez (kommer ni ihåg dom!) .The Genius avslutar albumet i Toto klass. Efter att ha njutit av denna platta så kan man nöjt känna sej stolt att vara svensk. Ps. Undrar när Z-Tv och Radio Rix börjar spela Higher Ground? Svar: När kvalitet vinner över dagsländorna. (Den dagen kan inte komma fort nog!)

Andy Flash 2004-11-04

http://www.artrock.se

Higher Ground
A thousand pieces

When a band chooses to follow the well-trodden path of melodic rock/AOR, they’d better do it well, or they risk being completely overlooked. The guys from Higher Ground seem to have found the right formula, because their new album, “A Thousand Pieces” is more than just good. A Thousand Pieces” is only Higher Ground’s second album, although this Swedish band has been around for a decade. Fans of Goo Goo Dolls and (early)Bon Jovi and Harem Scaremwill find lots of familiar elements on this album. The mix of melodic rock / pop rock / AOR also reminds me more than once of Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora’s solo album “Stranger In This Town”. Without sounding really new or original, they manage to avoid the clichés of the genre. All members of the band are definitely top-notch, without being spectacular. Peter Lindberg has a great, bluesy voice and both Niklas Hammarberg and Ulf Merkell (guitars and keys, resp.) lend some tasty contributions to the sound. The rhythm section of Petter Eriksson and Erik Petterson (pretty funny, those name, no?) is also quite solid. No real fillers here, although naturally not all songs are as exceptional as “Inside Me”, “Goodbye”, “The Genius” or the ballad “Believe”. My favourite track is “Speechless”, an amazingly catchy AOR song, with an excellent performance by singer Peter Lindberg, while the (female) backing vocals also add an extra something. Excellent album.

Reviewed by : Edwin

Rating : 8,5 / 10

http://www.prog-nose.org