Round two of 2021 catch-up! Some of these bands I haven't really talked about much this year, but some have definitely been lighting up my New Video articles. With a good split of epic power metal and 80s hard rock, it's been a lot of fun to listen to these! Here's what I've checked out this time.
While I did check out the singles for this album, none of them really excited me enough to share them in my articles. However, I'm always intrigued by a story, and this band is continuing on with their Nephilim's Empire Saga from their last album. They also continue their well-established style of symphonic power metal, full of bombast and epicness.
The story picks up with Kreel, a thrall of the evil gods known as the Nephilim, going about doing their bidding and maintaining their tyranny. After killing a holy prophet and falling in love with his next target, a desert enchantress, he decides to defy his evil lord, but the lord kills the enchantress in retaliation, inspiring Kreel to start fighting back. I'm assuming the next album will focus on the epic showdown as Kreel takes on his former master. It's not much of a story, but as always with these things, it's an opportunity to hang some power metal on all the angst and melodrama.
As for the music, it's pretty typical stuff for Rhapsody of Fire. Plenty of orchestrations to back up Giacomo Voli's vocals and the noodly guitars. The album does start with some darker, heavier material, culminating with the 10-minute "Abyss of Pain II," before switching to a more upbeat tone for the rest of the songs, which matches the story. While I've always kind of struggled with Rhapsody of Fire's style, I did feel this one was more on the accessible side than some of their others. As for stand out tracks, "Terial the Hawk" moves into folk metal territory, "Son of Vengeance" and "Chains of Destiny" were solid power metal songs, and "Abyss of Pain II" is certainly epic, if a bit too long. Fans of the band will find plenty to like, but outside of that, it's standard story-driven power metal.
With all these new bands playing in older styles, it's nice to see some of the originals still kicking it. Night Ranger has always been one of those bands that I consider pretty solid from the 80s, but I've never dug too deep into their catalog. I did enjoy their last album, though, and here they are back with another set of decent, if predictable, melodic hard rock.
Fans will probably find this to be more of the same from a band who's style was set nearly from the get-go. The album itself has an interesting flow, as it starts with a lot of energy, gets a little slower in the middle with those ballads, and then finishes with some bigger sounding songs. Overall, there are some solid rock riffs, nice melodies, decent guitar solos, and a great vocal performance from Jack Blades. I liked "Coming for You" and "Breakout," as they start the album well. "Monkey" was a curious stand-out as well, with a bit of a heavier riff than the rest of the tracks.
It's always tough for some of these bands, as it can feel like their best years are behind them. Rarely, a band can put out a great album later in their career, long after the spotlight has moved on from their style of music. As a result, some of these later albums, such as this one, come across as a little safe. Maybe they'll play a song or two when they tour, but otherwise, a lot of this might be forgotten. That doesn't mean this album is necessarily bad; I definitely like what I heard. But in the end, this is probably not one many will come back to frequently.
Speaking of those newer bands playing older styles, Eclipse hit my radar with their last album Paradigm. I had heard a few singles and liked what I heard, but it wasn't until I heard the album that I was really impressed by them. Just solid hard rock from beginning to end. So when I saw more singles from them announcing a new album, I was definitely excited. Now that I've finally sat down for this one, I can say that it's a solid follow-up, if not quite as strong.
The basics are certainly still here. The riffs really rock, and the vocals really soar, making for a lot of anthemic stompers and ensuring that the album retains much of the energy and fun of the previous album. Even the ballads get into it, often starting in somber, acoustic guitar territory before hitting with a big distorted riff out of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra playbook. However, some of the tracks do feel a little pedestrian at times, and the album doesn't really move much from a mid-tempo pace.
That being said, those are pretty small nitpicks, and any one looking for some solid, wall-of-sound hard rock will find plenty to like. "Roses on Your Grave" has a bit of a classic Def Leppard vibe, "Saturday Night (Hallelujah)" is a party by itself, "Twilight" is very epic with its added touch of Beethoven, and "Bite the Bullet" has some great, crunchy riffs and an interesting, ominous slide-guitar solo that builds to some more epicness. I think some of my excitement for this band has been tempered by this album, but I feel I can continue to expect great things from these Swedes. I should probably dig into their back catalog as well, as I know they've got plenty of albums behind them!
Brainstorm is a band I was somewhat aware of. I had listened to their 2011 album On the Spur of the Moment and found it to be some decent heavy/power metal that's typical from Germany. However, as 2021 got going, Brainstorm suddenly hit with a number of singles that really got my attention! Now that I'm catching up, this was an album I was definitely looking forward to!
Once the instrumental intro builds up, the album kicks off with tons of power and the rest of the songs do a decent job of maintaining that level of intensity. The riffs are heavy, but they're also pretty catchy, and the solos are very tight and melodic. However, the drumming by Dieter Bernert really nails the driving, epic vibe with his fierce double-kicking power. Overall, this is some pretty gritty power metal, much in the vein of bands like Primal Fear, Metalium, and Bloodbound.
Not every track is a winner, as a few just seem to jog in place, but they're still decent. Nothing really brings the album down. The songwriting is especially tight, with no real frills or extensions, just straight-forward power metal. "Where Ravens Fly" is a great high flying starter, "Escape the Silence" has some seriously pounding drumming, and "My Dystopia" is another fast one that really stood out to me as above the pack. As for the mid-tempo songs, "Turn Off the Light" and "Glory Disappears" were pretty enjoyable to hear again. "Stigmatized (Shadows Fall)" had an unexpected bit of groove, surrounded by some interesting 12/8 riffing.
The end of the album kinda tapers off in energy, but doesn't completely lose its steam. To be honest, this album might be in my Top 5 for this year. I knew it will be tough to decide what those five will be, and this album has definitely made it tougher! This is some solid, crunchy, epic music and worth a look from any power metal fan who likes it on the heavy side but somehow hasn't picked this up.
Alright, I think I've got one more article to pull together before I'm caught up with all I want to hear. I'm certain that I've listen listened to more current-year albums this year than I have ever before! Still, when it's all this solid, I can't complain, or at least I shouldn't, right? Well, onto the last batch! Until then, rock on! \m/
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