Horisont's "Odyssey" album is so 70s, my pants turned plaid while I was listening. I half expect them to be the guest hosts next week on The Muppet Show. Axel Söderberg's high, clear, prototypical classic rock vocals pack a ton of vinyl pre-MTV charisma; he's most reminiscent of Lou Gramm of Foreigner, but unique enough to defy copycat accusations. In addition to Axel's voice (*not that Axl*), the instrument tones, playing/soloing styles, and recording techniques emulate the pre-NWOBM metal sound so perfectly, it'd be easy to mistake Horizont for a contemporary of Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Nugent, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Kiss, ELO, Blue Oyster Cult, Thin Lizzy, Yes's less proggy stuff, Heart, first-era Rush, Bad Company, Night Ranger, et al, rather than a heavily-influenced descendant. For Alex Lifeson, this would be like listening to lost recordings of his younger self. If "Odysssey" wasn't recorded on a Reel-to-Reel deck, Horisont and their producers have gone to great pains to emulate that sound. The whole thing is excessive enough for the G-word; but hey, maybe the Gimmick will earn them some attention and lucrative opening slots on some major tours.

Their songwriting style is purposefully derivative, but assured and skillful, with lots of head-nodding and winning passages. Even the awful moments feel like deliberate recreations of awful moments from the past. They employ the grandiose scale and fuzz of their target era, but only skim the self-indulgence and pretentiousness and tedium quagmire that snagged so many artists of that time. The long opening title track feels its' 10-minute length, but it's a comfortable ride, like a road trip in a big wood-paneled deep purple station wagon. ‘Break the Limit’ is kind of terrible in a Kiss kind of way, but also catchy and probably makes for a great live sing-along, much like Kiss's greatest hits. My favorites were probably ‘Flying’, for its Iommi-like pretty intro and the strummed riff straight outta ‘Fire On High’ by ELO, and the album closer, ‘Timmarna’ (one of two tracks sung in Swedish), for its epic scope and beauty.

Obviously, Horisont is going to appeal more to fans of classic rock and "old guy" music. "Odyssey" is an enjoyable retro journey through a golden AM radio lost age. Horisont deliver something like a tribute band experience, just with new and unfamiliar songs. . . Songs that range from hokey-terrible to good to really good, with the positives greatly outweighing the negative. And you know, I've seen a few tribute bands in my day; I've even strongly recommended a few. While I enjoy the hell out of some of them, I'd still always give anything for a chance to see the real thing in their prime era. In other words: once my time machine is completed, I'll use it to go back to the 70s or early 80s to catch some of the greatest bands of all time at their peak, when their music was newborn (and to warn my younger self about certain people). In the meantime, Horisont will do just fine for new throwback music.