Time to get back on track with some new releases. I've got another trio of power metal albums, featuring some pretty big bands. I promise I'll get to other genres as the year goes one, but these took priority for the summer, so here we are. Raise your hammers, cast your spells, face all comers, and check out these reviews!
I have admit that doing the Retrospective article got me pretty hyped to hear the new album. While I do think the band has changed, I do like their newer albums quite a bit. They always provide a good, epic, fun time, and Avenge the Fallen is no different. It may seem like more of the same, but there is something to be said for consistency.
Things start off well with the title track, with gang vocals on the chorus. In fact, this whole album has a lot more gang vocals this time around. I'm sure fans will be singing those parts when they play these songs live. The album carries on well enough, with "The End Justifies" starting with some riffing that wouldn't be out of place on some of their first albums, before going to a spacy section that shifts into a different chorus-like part. I also liked "Hail to the King," with it's slow, 6/8 groove, and both "Burn It Down" and "Capture the Dream" had some interesting ideas. The ballad "Hope Springs Eternal" isn't the worst, though it does overstay it's welcome a bit, things get understandably dark with "Rise of Evil," and the closer "Time Immemorial" has a bit of an odd style, chugging under the verse, but dropping to a somber tone for the chorus.
Perhaps a bit of a mixed bag, but honestly it's pretty solid all the way through. None of the songs feel particularly terrible (even the ballad), and their fans have plenty of more anthems to shout to. I'm not immediately sure how it compares to their other recent albums; I'll probably have to listen to this one a few times to really decide. However, I'd say they met my expectations pretty well, making another solid chunk of heavy/power metal.
The Nephilim's Empire Saga continues as Kreel learns more about his origin and faces a new rival known as the Black Wizard! Rhapsody of Fire carries on with their majestic style of symphonic power metal, for better or worse.
To be honest, I really struggle to review this band. I know I have a few times before, but it honestly ends up being a lot of the same: great orchestrations, bombastic style, noodly guitar solos, fantasy lyrics. And it's still good, but I really struggle to feel invested in what they're doing. For what it's worth, they do have a bit of a change-up, adding in some raspy black metal vocals, which I think are done by singer Giacomo Voli (there are no other vocal credits, so I think he's doing both). Still, it only feels like another layer within the bombast. Even their storytelling feels lackluster, often taking too long to get to where they're going. They even have a 16-minute song in the middle called "Vanquished by Shadows," that could have been cut in half, as it has a lot of repeating sections. And then they repeat them again for "Mastered by the Dark." It's like they just cut out a section of the long song, made it a new track, and called it a day.
That's not to say I hate what's going on. There are some good moments. I liked "Kreel's Magic Staff," and "A Brave New Hope," even if they did have some jarring time-signature shifts, and "Diamond Claws" brought back some folky elements. Otherwise, I feel like the album just kinds goes in one ear and out the other. I know Rhapsody of Fire are a pillar in the world of power metal, but I just can't seem to click with them, and their latest album is no different.
After loving their debut album so much that it was my #1 album two years ago, I was very excited to hear what these guys from H.E.A.T. have to offer for their sophomore effort. I enjoyed their blend of Gamma Ray style power metal and AOR, but they've definitely picked up more symphonic elements, wandering towards the likes of Dragonland, and Twilight Force.
Another major shift is with the lyrics, pulling a page from Saxon's old worn playbook by focusing on a bunch of historical topics for this album instead of typical topics fantasy and triumph (squeezing in Iron Maiden's "Alexander the Great" for good measure). As a result, the songs feel like history lessons based on quickly reading the associated Wikipedia pages, which has mixed results. Still, all the shiny production and tight performances are back, and Nils Molin sings his guts out, sounding great. There are more synths this time around, but they're just another layer among all the orchestrations going on here. It's solid stuff, but compared to the first album, it does come across as an awkward turn.
I don't necessarily want to be down on a band who wants to expand to new horizons (pun intended), but this album was not an immediate hit like their first one was. I liked the great opener "Against All Odds," the Kamelot vibes on "Messenger of the Stars," the heavy AOR crunch on "Edge of Insanity," and there's plenty of story-telling here, but I think I need to listen to this one a few more times to really decide how I feel about it.
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