Amber Galactic is the third studio album by Swedish rock band The Night Flight Orchestra, released on 19 May 2017 via Nuclear Blast.[1][2] It was recorded at Handsome Hard Studios, Kävlinge, Sweden and Nordic Sound Lab, Skara, Sweden in 2016. Additional recordings were done at Studio Valborg, Studio Rymdberg, Speedstrid Studios and on a tour bus close to the Austrian border.
| Amber Galactic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 19 May 2017 | |||
| Recorded | 2016 | |||
| Studio | Handsome Hard Studio, Sweden | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock[1] | |||
| Length | 50:07 | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
| The Night Flight Orchestra chronology | ||||
| ||||
In March 2017 during a press conference, singer Björn Strid stated: "Amber Galactic was made during late nights and way too early mornings, when sometimes, in the corner of your eye, you can catch a glimpse of another dimension, where all the women are heartbroken space commanders in evening gowns, the champagne is always free and the drugs won't hurt you. We wanted to create more than just a listening experience, instead we want it to be an alternative reality. We hope that after listening to Amber Galactic, you'll be wide-eyed, horny and slightly drunk." Guitarist David Andersson added: "Musicianship in itself is not interesting, neither are the technical aspects of creating music. The ideas and visions behind the music are the only things really worthy of in-depth discussions. We've all reached a point where we can all pretty much play and sing whatever we want. We didn't talk much about chord changes or amplifiers during the recording sessions. But we spent a lot of time discussing Kierkegaard’s concept of anxiety, different vintages of sparkling wine, the psychoacoustic aspects of modulation, the innate superiority of women and why a pearl necklace always look better when whoever wears it has a bored expression on her face."[3]
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| CounterCulture | 95/100[4] |
| Sentinel Daily | (favourable)[5] |
| Rock Hard | 8.5/10[6] |
| Metal Hammer | (favourable)[7] |
| Team Rock | 3/5[8] |
| KNAC | 5/5[9] |
| Metal Underground | 4.5/5[10] |
| Radio Metal | (favourable)[11] |
| Metal.de | 10/10[12] |
| Power Metal | 9.5/10[13] |
In May 2017, Amber Galactic was awarded album of the month by the publications Rock Hard,[14] Rock Hard France, Sweden Rock, PowerMetal.de and United Rock Nations. Sentinel Daily called it "definite album of the year material", while Metal Hammer described its sound as "AOR and classical rock between a hail of mirror balls and swinging hooks!" Radio Metal wrote: "Prepare yourself a nice little sparkling bath, pour a glass of champagne and let yourself be embarked on a journey made of odes to intergalactic hostesses, and sing without restraint. Sometimes pleasure is no more complicated than that."[11]
In December 2017, Amber Galactic was nominated for a Swedish Grammy Award in the category Best rock/Metal.[15]
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Midnight Flyer" | 6:07 |
| 2. | "Star of Rio" | 4:34 |
| 3. | "Gemini" | 4:18 |
| 4. | "Sad State of Affairs" | 4:50 |
| 5. | "Jennie" | 4:32 |
| 6. | "Domino" | 5:01 |
| 7. | "Josephine" | 4:41 |
| 8. | "Space Whisperer" | 4:35 |
| 9. | "Something Mysterious" | 4:10 |
| 10. | "Saturn in Velvet" | 7:26 |
| Total length: | 50:07 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Just Another Night (Mick Jagger Cover)" | 4:53 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Fly Tonight (Never Rewind)" |
Personnel edit
The Night Flight Orchestra
- Björn "Speed" Strid – vocals
- David Andersson – guitar
- Sharlee D'Angelo – bass
- Richard Larsson – keyboards, percussion
- Jonas Källsbäck – drums, percussion
- Sebastian Forslund – congas, percussion, guitar
Additional musicians
- Johanna Beijbom – backing vocals on "Star of Rio" and "Josephine"
- Martin Lindqvist – sax solo on "Just Another Night"
- Hanna Carlsson – cello
Special appearances
Giorgia Carteri, Kamila Kucharska, Lena Mischuk, Kenya Horst, Anna Berntman
Charts edit
| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] | 64 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17] | 165 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] | 43 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] | 54 |
References edit
- ^ a b "The Night Flight Orchestra Feat. Soilwork, Arch Enemy Members: 'Amber Galactic' Artwork, Track Listing". Blabbermouth.net. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
- ^ Frisbee, Maxine (24 March 2017). "The Night Flight Orchestra Premieres Brand New Song, "Midnight Flyer" + Amber Galactic Available For Pre-Order". Shockwave Magazine. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
- ^ Frisbee, Maxine (10 March 2017). "The Night Flight Orchestra Announce New Studio Album's Title & Release Date". Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ "The Night Flight Orchestra neemt je op 'Amber Galactic' mee naar de eighties". CounterCulture. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ^ Scott Adams. "The Night Flight Orchestra – Amber Galactic (Nuclear Blast)". Sentinel Daily. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ^ Boris Kaiser. "Ginza.se".
- ^ Frank Thiessies. "Ginza.se".
- ^ Joe Daly. "The Night Flight Orchestra - Amber Galactic album review". Team Rock. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ^ Daniel Höhr. "THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA Amber Galactic". KNAC. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
- ^ Robert. "The Night Flight Orchestra – Amber Galactic". Metal Underground. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
- ^ a b Nicolas Gricourt. "THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA – AMBER GALACTIC". Radio Metal. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ Michael Klaas. "The Night Flight Orchestra - Amber Galactic". metal.de. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ Raphael Päbst. "NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA, THE - AMBER GALACTIC". Power Metal. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- ^ Kaiser, Boris (13 May 2017). "Presenting ROCK HARD'S Richter Scale picks for April". Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
- ^ Metalstorm (20 December 2017). "The Night Flight Orchestra - Nominated For Swedish Grammy". Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – The Night Flight Orchestra – Amber Galactic" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – The Night Flight Orchestra – Amber Galactic" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Night Flight Orchestra – Amber Galactic" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Night Flight Orchestra – Amber Galactic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2017.