Yeah, this one is about a week and a half late, but better late than never! 2004 would naturally be another decent year full of power metal, but I decided I'd give a few new albums a chance instead of going over ones I've heard before. However, of those, the major standout for me is Nightwish's Once, as that album was one of my favorites in my initial year as a metalhead. The symphonic flourish of those songs was incredible, and convinced me to continue enjoying the genre. Check out the playlist below for more highlights from the year. As for this article, I admit I ended up just diving into some more power metal, but these were albums I've been wondering about for a while. Let's get into it!
Speaking of my early metalhead years, I came across this band's debut album Delirium Veil and absolutely loved it. Definitely inspired by fellow Finns Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica (with a bit of Europe for good measure), they took a much more synth-heavy approach to power metal and spiced it up with some interesting prog elements, like mixed-meter sections. I thought it was novel at the time, but I never followed up on their later albums. Fortunately, this article gives me the opportunity to check out their sophomore effort.
While much remains the same, the songwriting has taken a shift towards more of an 80s pop metal sound, much like what Edguy was doing in the later 2000s. The proggy elements have also disappeared for some pretty straight forward songs. However, what worked before still works here. Ville Wallenius and Tommi Sartanen have tons of incredible fret work in both licks and solos, Mikko Naukkarinen is right there with them on the keys while also providing a solid synth ambience, Jussi Kainulainen and Juha Leskinen are solid enough as the rhythm section, and Heikki Pöyhiä belts out the lyrics with gusto. If there is a problem, it's that most of the album kinda blends together more. There are a few ballads to break things up, and they're not bad, but overall, this album mostly sticks to a rockin' feel outside of a few power metal-like sections.
I think I still like the first album more, as I think it's more ambitious and iconic. While these songs aren't bad, the production is solid, and the album flows quite well, this just feels a bit lackluster compared to what came before. I definitely liked the title track as an opener, "Fever Pitch" had a great build up in energy as the song went on, and the rest of the album is enjoyable enough. I just wish there was more going on.
So I've been listening to the title track of this album for years, but I haven't checked out the rest until now. While I found their second album to be decent (though not as good as their first), I went into this third one with some high hopes. For the most part, they've been met, as the band shifts into more of a traditional metal band with power metal moments.
There are two main takeaways I have here. First is that they really focused on having catchy hooks and riffs, making these songs really stick with you. The second is the fact that Gus G. really goes hard on this album. Sometimes, he's full of legato on the melodic solos, sometimes he's full speed shredding, and it's very front-and-center on this album. However, the rest of the band is solid, as the band shifts from high-speed numbers, to anthemic pieces, to hard rock jams. While "The Enemy" and "No Way" keep the power metal around, most of the album sticks to a mid-tempo groove of one kind or another. Some of the songs like "Tired," "Unbreakable Chain," and "Only for the Night" make me think of Scorpions, actually, though that might be because vocalist Niklas Isfeldt reminds me of Klaus Meine sometimes.
I do wish there was more of the power metal from the first album, but the heavy metal and hard rock stuff is pretty fun. The lyrics can be campy, so your mileage may vary with those, but overall, the album is never dull. And that title track might be the best thing they've ever written. Every time I put it on, you had better believe that I'm singing out the chorus as loud as I can!
Yup, more Angra! I promise this was the planned album for this article before I heard the band was going on hiatus, doing a quick tour of their homeland to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this album. While the last album was a solid return to form with a new lineup, this one has them coming back with another concept album. This one tells the story of an 11th century crusader being given a strange prophecy by a Jewish rabbi. As events unfold, he finds himself questioning the teachings of his faith and finding the meaning of his life, while being given visions of the future.
The band is definitely going big with this one, really wearing their Dream Theater influences on their sleeve. The album shifts between power metal triumph to somber acoustic ballads to technical riffing to jazzy songs like "Sprouts of Time." "Spread Your Fire" is a firey opener (after the intro track), "Temple of Hate" gets neo-classical, while "Wishing Well" gets kinda folky and proggy, kinda like the Flower Kings. "Morning Star" really runs the gamut, going back and forth between heavy riffing and more somber, mysterious tones. The lyrics themselves are mostly fine. It feels a bit preachy here and there, but otherwise, they tell the story pretty well. While it certainly is progressive metal, nothing feels confusing or jarring. It's all well-arranged and performed, and the album flows well from song to song.
However, I don't know if I like it as much as their other albums. I think this is one I will need to revisit a few times before I can really decide how I feel about it. It has a lot of little bits I like, but the songs don't quite come together for me. I guess maybe I went in thinking I'd get more power than prog, and this is definitely more on the prog side. Still, it's undeniable Angra, maintaining an interesting balance between their influences while bringing in new ideas.
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