However; be warned: often what you really get is a re-release of one of his more obscure previous releases (originally released in 1988). Such as this one.

It's not a re-release in the truest sense of the word. The original recordings have been replaced with new ones with Bjorn Lodin on vocals and Eddie Sledgehammer on drums. Mattson himself played all guitars, basses and keyboards.

This makes this release a must have for Mattson fans, I suppose but make sure to give it a spin or two if you know or own the original recordings, which he recorded with an entirely different band, consisting of Tosse Jansson (vocals), Goran Stenius (bass), Tony Mattson (drums) and Orjan Sjostrom (keyboards and backing vocals).

I myself don't know the original recordings so I can't tell you which one I would prefer. What I *can* tell you is that this record sounds like the Mattson material I *do* know. Solid, great leads, and (thank god) a thorough understanding that rhythm parts shouldn't be forgotten about.

I am not a big fan of Lodin's ever raspy vocals, but he does a decent job. Just not the kind of voice I like, but a good singer nonetheless.

Considering the great number of Mattson (releated) releases I think this might be one for Mattson purists only. Fans of his older work will love this for sure, but personally I have heard better work of his the last year.

So all you Mattson fans out there: check it out before buying, and let's see how long it takes before we find the next Mattson album on the door mat. :) For the die-hards: the song "Children Of The Sun" has never been released on CD before, so if you've been looking out for that one; here it is!