Almost exactly two years since the release of their solid debut effort, Open Minds, Eden return with a new album and a new label in the form of Z Records. Still based around the core of vocalist Nick Workman (Kick) and guitarist Vince O'Regan (Pulse / Bob Catley), Eden recently completed the House of Lords tour with the new material being warmly received.

The title track starts off slowly with an Eastern themed intro, and it is a minute or so before the main riff kicks in and it develops into a hard-edged modern rocker. Following a slightly less convincing spoken section O’Regan lets loose with a solo and it makes for a reasonable enough opening. There is more of a groove to ‘Nothing’ with a sinister vocal from Workman and a thumping rhythm section. Despite showcasing another fine solo, ‘Kharma Coming’ doesn’t quite hit the mark with the main hook of “What goes around will come around” repeated way too often. The mean and moody ‘New Tattoo’ packs more of a punch and for the first time you can really start to appreciate the quality of Workman’s vocal which remains one of the most distinctive around the UK rock scene. This is the signal for the album to hit a purple patch with the anthemic ‘Higher’ and the hook filled ‘As Good As It Gets’.

The real stand-out moment, Last Goodbye’ finds the pace drop considerably as Eden head into power-ballad territory. A song dedicated to the late Ray Gillen, it is both sentimental and evocative, yet at the same time manages to avoid the obvious pitfalls. ‘Say That You Will’ (with its irritating fade out) and ‘I Don’t Do The Blues’ don’t have the same impact, but the pounding ‘Can’t Slow Down’ finds Workman sounding Dickenson-like on the galloping verses.

Just lacking in the consistency shown by its predecessor, Oblivion still compares well with the rest of what 2008 has had to offer so far. And if you liked Open Minds, then Oblivion will certainly not disappoint. A very welcome return for a band that really do deserve to be heard by a wider audience.