Come This Madness

“In a nation of lies, truth becomes treason.” So sings <b>Europe</b> vocalist Joey Tempest on <b>“In the Absence of Grace”</b>, a fleeting piano ballad that nonetheless cuts to the heart of <i>Come This Madness</i>. On their first album in nearly a decade, Swedish hard-rock masters Europe confront the chaos of the modern world with incisive lyrics, meticulously crafted songs and epic guitar solos and cameos from Ghost’s Tobias Forge and Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt. <b>“The Cult of Ignorance”</b> leads with a honky-tonk guitar riff, a pulsing bassline and lyrics that question the narrow-minded and unthinking everywhere. The title track <b>“Come This Madness”</b> uses dramatic keys and a rousing chorus to address fringe voices with too much power. <b>“Scandinavian Eyes”</b> opens with an orchestral lament before riding a Deep Purple groove into a theatrical climax.