Time for another Anniversary Series article! Much like 2012, I don't have much for 2017, but I do recommend checking out the playlist below, as it has tracks from Beast in Black's and One Desire's debut albums, as well as Antti Martikainen's Northern Steel, which is just incredible symphonic folk metal. In the meantime, I've got some more reviews for you, which let me catch up on some big bands!
After enjoying Electric Pentagram two years ago so much that it ended up in my Top 5 for the year, I knew I had to make time to listen the rest of this band's discography. However, other albums ended up taking priority, so I decided to include their debut album as part of this retrospective. Unsurprisingly, it's another sonic blast of high speed melodic metal.
Right off, Midori and Miyako are absolutely shredding through this album. Not only are the high speed riffs quite melodic and catchy, but their solos are generally quite solid, and often feature them trading off back and forth. Just excellent guitar work. Haruna and Miho keep the rhythm section right on time, ensuring there is plenty of thrust underneath the guitar work to really let it soar, and Asami's iconic voice soars over it all. All the Lovebites staples are here. However, I will say that the songwriting and lyrics don't have quite the same polish as their later work would have. I'm sure it's no easy feat to be writing songs in another language, but I do think they've clearly improved from here. Also the songs seems to veer more towards a shred-heavy speedy j-poppy metal rather than the epic power metal of their later material. It's not a major shift, but I did notice a general difference across the album.
Still, in all honesty, these are nit picks, and there is plenty I enjoyed. "The Hammer of Wrath" is a solid opener (after the intro track), "Bravehearted" gets pretty epic, and "Scream for Me" has a great high energy riff that gets the blood pumping. However, the highlight for me has to be the bridge on "The Apocalypse." The song has a thrashier vibe, but then they change the tempo on the bridge, busting out a Hammond organ and some heavy riffing, making for an incredible breakdown. While the album might not be a complete winner, there is plenty for a new Lovebites fan like me to sink my teeth into.
When I discovered this band last year, and found their album to be an outright blast, I knew The Dust Coda were a band I would need to catch up as well. They style of blues rock has this energized quality that I don't often find in many other retro rock bands. Checking out their debut album for this anniversary article, I find that it's just as solid of a rocker as their follow up from 2021.
Once again, I enjoy their energetic songwriting and performances. The guitars have a good balance of crunchy and catchiness, with plenty of rocking riffs and solos. Tony Ho and Scott Miller provide all kinds of groove with their bass and drum rhythms, ensuring that your head will be banging to more than a few of these tracks. And once again, John Drake sings his heart out, giving each song the energy it needs, whether it's anthemic, driven, somber, or soft. His gritty wails are pure classic rock. If there is a difference on this album from The Mojo Skyline, it's that it is definitely bluesier, giving the songs a stronger Zeppelin vibe, and a few of the riffs gave me 70s AC/DC vibes. The album also has a lot of dynamics, willing to bring things down for a bit before building them back up, with many of the songs escalating to some nice jams at the end of them.
I don't know if this album is quite as good as The Mojo Skyline, but it certainly shares plenty of it's style and substance. I quite liked the opener "The More It Fades," with the nice build into the solo. I had a smile on my face by the end of that track! "Down in the Valley" was another good rocker that builds well for it's big ending. "Rock N Roll," "Save Me," "and "When the Tide Comes In," definitely have some of the juicier grooves. And I even liked some of the ballads, particularly the melancholy "Sweet Love Is Gone," as it really digs into their somber, bluesier side. Overall, another solid album of hard rock from these guys. I'm certainly looking forward to a third one, whenever they get around to that!
Just as with Lovebites, Sorcerer was a band I feel in love with when I finally took the time check them out two years ago, enjoying with their classic epic doom sound. I knew I would need to check out their back catalog as well, and this anniversary article provided the opportunity to check out their second album. While, much of what I loved is here, this album does have a distinctly different tone.
Of course, the album still sounds like Sorcerer, as the lineup is mostly the same. Anders Engberg provides great, theatrical vocals, soaring over all the heavy, plodding riffs. Hallgren and Niemann tear it up on their guitars as well, with their solos shredding all over the place. However, I do think there is an overall difference in tone compared to Lamenting of the Innocent. While that album had a thick sense of haunting and dread made possible by its lush production, this album feels more like a journey, following the story of a set of doomed voyagers (though I don't think it's a concept album). It also feels like it has a few more elements of traditional metal, as there were times I was reminded of Grand Magus or some of Saxon's slower songs. As a result, it feels more epic on a classic, narrative sense, like reading Homer or Beowulf. Songs like "Sirens," "Ship of Doom," and "Crimson Cross" are good examples of this (and are good tracks in general). "Unbearable Sorrow" was another stand-out track, as it has an interesting sense of melancholy, rather than dread.
I don't think this album is as strong as Lamenting, though I know that one took a while to grow on me, so maybe this one will as well. I did feel like the album dragged a little at times, but not often. In any case, these Swedes are still masters of the 80s doom metal style, while making a name for themselves with their incredible guitar work and great sense of epic songwriting and lyrics.
Yup, here's another debut album of a band I've been meaning to catch up on. Featuring Anette Olzon (formerly of Nightwish) on vocals and Jani Liimatainen (formerly of Sonata Arctica) on guitars and keyboards, and Jani's bandmates from Cain's Offerings on bass and drums, they created a symphonic power metal project that feels like a decent fusion of the aforementioned bands with a few extras.
While much of the production is pretty much right in step with the Olzon era of Nightwish, the new element is a greater amount of trance-like synths on the songs, giving them more of an Amaranthe or Metalite feel, both of which were around by this time. They show up pretty often, but I think they give the songs a bit more breadth, in a way. "I Cannot Raise the Dead" almost has an EDM vibe. I actually don't have a problem with this kind of stuff in metal (see my glowing reviews for Beast in Black, for example), but it can be hit and miss on this album. On the other hand, songs like "Someone You Used to Know," "Heaven of Your Heart," and "Halo" throw in acoustic piano and guitar, so the album does try to broaden the soundscape of the songs. However, despite all this variety, the songwriting is some pretty cookie-cutter symphonic metal. While fans of the genre might find something to like, it probably won't be converting anyone new to the style.
There are a handful of good tracks, though. "My Sweet Mystery" has some solid riffs and symphonic orchestration, and "Dead to Me" fuses all these elements pretty well with good, energetic riffs, both of the synth and guitar variety. Overall, it's decent, but not amazing. However, I know that, just from the singles I've heard, the second album really improves the songwriting. When I get around to that one, we'll see if the band has places to go in the future.
Well, that's the last anniversary article for the year! As always, if there is anything you think I've missed, let me know in the comments below. As for the rest of the year, I've got some albums to catch up on, plus a bit of a holiday surprise, so keep an eye out for that! Until then, rock on! \m/
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