I had a bit of a “head start” with some of the songs on this CD as I was lucky enough to witness the MARTIE PETERS GROUP in concert for their very first US show at the Melodicrock.com 10th Anniversary show in South Bend, IN last month. In my review of the show, I said that their performance was a pleasant surprise of the day and it certainly was!

I was also able to talk for a few minutes with Martie after the show and he was a great guy and very gracious, as being that they had sold out of their disc at the show, he assured me he’d get me a copy out in the mail (Thanks Matt!) so that I could review it here at Rockeyez.

After hearing some of the songs for the very first time from this record in a concert setting, I was very impressed so it was with high expectations I had to hear the actual CD. Well after just a couple spins, I was impressed beyond my expectations! This album needs to be heard. To me it’s just about the perfect combination of melodic rock coupled with enough contemporary touches to be of appeal to a vast audience. The sheer class of the songs, the arrangements and the production make this album one that will be in my top 10 CD’s of 2007 for sure.

The album opens with “Fallen” which is a modern, heavy rocker with attitude. After an extended intro, the song kicks in with a groove that takes hold and doesn’t let go. Then the chorus comes along and it’s almost as melodic as can be.

The second track, “Chosen One,” is one that MPG did in South Bend and this song is super melodic with a catchy as hell chorus. The guitars as supplied by Martin Slott are classy and he’s got a nice tone to his sound.

“Shallow” is another track that I had a live preview of and this song follows with the melodic tendencies of the previous track. The songs on this album are very well arranged and just about perfectly executed throughout.

The fourth track on the record “The Clown” is more of a mid-paced melodic rocker with some great lyrics. If you didn’t already know then I’ll tell you that Martie Peters vocals are very reminiscent at times to fellow Dane Mike Tramp of WHITE LION fame.

“Wish” is a great song, which uses some modern updated vocal effects and an awesome guitar riff from Slott to great effect. The song never loses its melody though and if I had to pick one song to exemplify the sound that is MPG than I would probably tell you to listen to this track. It shows how great Martie and the band can mix hard-driving melodic rock with modern elements and come up with a great result.

“For What It’s Worth” is the ballad off the album, and actually starts off sounding a little like DEF LEPPARD’s “Love Bites.” The song is in typical ballad fashion with a nice chorus and good use of keyboards to set the right vibe.

“Swimming In Your Blue Eyes” is the song that MPG ended their South Bend concert with and it is simply a great track. The song starts out with a nice piano line but quickly kicks in with a crunching guitar riff and then proceeds to have a very anthem-like feel. The song is reminiscent of something I could hear WHITE LION doing.

“Silence Sits At My Throne” has a nice guitar riff and a great sweeping chorus. You really hear the greatness of the arrangements and vocal melodies on this record with songs like this. This band sounds tight and Slott comes up with a cool guitar solo in this one.

Next track up is “Kill The Pain” and this one takes on a darker and heavier feel. Again, Martin Slott supplies some great guitar work on this. The song sounds similar to the earlier “Fight To Survive”-era work of WHITE LION. Even with the heavier tone to this song, the chorus is still melodic and catchy.

“Waitin’ In Line Again” opens with acoustic guitar before the electric guitar comes in; the song again has a WHITE LION feel to it without sounding like any particular one of their songs. The chorus is ultra-catchy and is something that could get stuck in your head for days. I have to say MPG certainly has a knack for writing a great hook in their songs.

“All I Have” starts out in a mellow mood before kicking into a straight-ahead rocker and you guessed it; the chorus is catchy and memorable as ever! Martin Slott’s guitar work on this one is also great. It kind of has a TESLA feel to it with its bluesy riffing.

The final track on the album is the title track, “Road To Salvation,” and MPG may have saved the best for last. The track has a great feel to it. Peters’ throws in a few little vocal nuances in to make the track sound very heartfelt and the track actually has a somewhat epic feel to it. The last minute of the song rolls along with some nice organ sounds as the chorus flows into an ultimate a cappella ending and then a lone Peters’ vocal. That part of the song reminds me of something you would hear from BON JOVI. The track is something a little different from what was on offer from the rest of the album without sounding out of place at all. Actually, it’s that type of diversity from MPG that makes me look forward to more from this group. I gave this CD 4.5 stars because I really think this band could come up with a real classic, and if I rated this record any higher what would I do then!

If you like classic sounding straight ahead hard rock with loads of melody and some great guitar riffs and solos then you’d have a hard time finding better then MPG’s “Road To Salvation”. Check it out!