EUROPE - Come This Madness

Europe are living a kind of second youth these days, confirmed by a string of triumphant tours and now by a solid studio comeback after a full nine years of absence. “Come This Madness” is their twelfth album, a new piece in a journey that still regards “The Final Countdown” as its high-water mark: a level of popularity and success the Swedish band has never again matched. Today - and this is undoubtedly good news - Joey Tempest and co. show no intention of looking back at that version of Europe, offering instead a form of hard rock that chases sweat rather than glitter or chart positions.

Within “Come This Madness” you can trace numerous nods to the riffs of Black Sabbath (the opening of “The Devil's Back” is an eloquent example), while a track like the energetic “Scandinavian Eyes” reveals a skilful weave of Deep Purple and Iron Maiden. Clever radio hooks are few and far between, perhaps only surfacing in the development of “Takin' It Back”. “One On One” opens with strings before making way for a sound reminiscent of Muse, complete with a stadium rock chorus. What follows, in no particular order, is the grandeur of “The Angels Must Have Flown”, the more structured title track, and the melodramatic interlude “In The Absence Of Grace”, with the only melodic moments confined to “This Time Of Year” and the closing “Nothing Can Follow It”. The result is a convincing and engaging record that breaks no new ground, but one that could potentially appeal both to the girls who adored Europe in the mid-Eighties and to those who, in more recent times, have stayed loyal to the evolution of certain guitar-driven sounds that look to the past without excessive nostalgia.

The Europe of 2026 have a new identity (after all, it was in 2003 that a reunion marked the start of a second artistic life), one that aims to shed any wistfulness for their glorious past and look firmly and confidently toward the present of the new millennium.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

10/10/2026