Swedish guitarist  Erik Jayce Landberg first picked up the instrument at fourteen and, after listening to “Break The Spell”, it's apparent that he has blossomed into a player of quality. Exposed to both classical and rock music simultaneously he found himself trying to meld the two in similar fashion to two of his predecessors, namely Yngwie Malmsteen and Uli Jon Roth. To that end he joined forces with former Malmsteen vocalist Goran Edman and, over the course of eleven tracks here Jayce and Edman have delivered some decent neo-classical rock.

Perhaps obviously, given the lineage of both men, the nearest reference point would be Yngwie Malmsteen circa “Trilogy” but with Break The Spell it's delivered in a more subtle and mild mannered fashion. Jayce’s rhythm guitar sound is fat and smooth and uses nice chord changes that keep the music from getting too predictable. Combine that with Edman's penchant for stacking up layers of vocals and you're  left with a very enjoyable listen. The music is anthemic, never mores so than on  “Land Of The Dark” and “Tell Me Why” but there is also musical variety in the shape of surging instrumental “Kusamara” and ballads such as “Left On A Dream”. At times there are some very Yngwie like chord progressions that came a bit too close for comfort but with classical infused rock that will always happen.

Strangely enough perhaps the best track here is “Burning Bridges”, possibly the least classically flavoured song and it shows there is more to Jayce than at first meets the eye. All in all however  “Break The Spell” is a solid release, if a little bit predictable at times. Thankfully those moments are few and far between and for fans of early to mid career Yngwie this is a good enough place to while away the time.