After I enjoyed doing my Catching Up article with The Brothers of Metal, I decided to repeat the concept for another modern metal band that has always been on my radar, but haven't spent the time to review any of their work. Largely pulled together by Frontiers Records, it features Magnus Karlsson (of Primal Fear and various symphonic metal projects), Mike Terrana (formerly of Masterplan and Malmsteen, among others) and the voice himself, Ronnie Romero (who also has plenty of projects as well, but was best known as the singer for Ritchie Blackmore's sudden revival of Rainbow in 2015). With a strong pedigree and a flair for the dramatic, they've released four albums now, including one from earlier this year! What better time to catch up with this band than now?
With the introduction out of the way, let's get to the music. Right off, the group settles into a melodic heavy metal vibe, similar to the likes of Dream Evil, Silver Bullet, and Last in Line. There are more symphonic flourishes though, which makes them much like other Frontiers supergroup projects, such as Allen/Lande. In short, it sounds like what would happen to Dio's sound if he kept going and added more strings.
Speaking of which, Ronnie Romero wails his heart out, sometimes sounding like the classic singer, but also with a bit of grit, making me think of Jorn or even Robin McAuley at times. Nevertheless, he's great here, and the other two members are in top form. Mike pounds out the rhythm with ease, and Magnus gets to show off both his lush arrangements and guitar prowess, easily going between shreddy and melodic as the song needs. The songs are pretty solid all the way through, though I do think "Eternal Night" is a bit of a clichéd power ballad.
I'm not quite sure why they're listed as "Power Metal" on the Metal Archives, as they really are more like a symphonic-powered traditional metal band (again, like Allan/Lande). However, I will say that I like the more uptempo songs, like "Still Standing Up," "Eyes on the Sky," and the excellent closer "Welcome to the Show." I also liked "One Heart," the other power ballad on the album, as I think it builds well. Overall, it's a good album to build on, even though they don't really deviate from what they established here.
So I actually featured two singles from this album back when I was more focused on music videos. I thought were pretty good, but I guess they weren't enough to get me to check out the rest. Now that I'm picking up the slack, this album carries on their journey by bringing another solid slab of symphonic-tinged epic metal.
That does make it difficult to find much that's meaningful to say. The production is still big and powerful, the trio continue to play well, and it's easy to just get lost in the escapism of the sound. I don't know if this one is better than the first one, but there is still plenty to like. The opener "Don't Stand in My Way" start things off well, and the two singles I mentioned above, "A New Evil" and "No Matter How Hard We Fall," remain strong pieces. As for the ending, "You Against the World" has some strong Primal Fear vibes that I liked, and "All We Got" is a nice, upbeat, AOR-style closer. I do think the symphonic elements are stronger, but honestly, they're sticking with what they have, as it's certainly working for them.
Three years later, and not much has changed. Magnus shreds, Mike pounds, and Ronnie soars. So is there anything different? Well, I do think the symphonic elements have been boosted again, really going for some bombastic sections in a few songs. I also think the songwriting has slightly shifted in more of an AOR direction, but even then, there's still plenty of chugging riffs and shredding solos to keep this squarely in metal territory. Honestly, though, this is just me splitting hairs. The Ferrymen have their sound, and they aren't changing it for anyone.
Once again, I like it when the bring the energy. "City of Hate" gave me some Karevik-era Kamelot vibes, with the darker tone and aggressive riffing. The title track (while not a cover of a great Alan Parsons Project song) ends up being a very cinematic song, with the orchestrations really bringing the power. "Bringers of the Dark" and "The Last Ship" have some tight riffing and solid choruses. Overall, it's another consistent album that doesn't really have a bad song, which means its about the same as the first two albums. No need fix what isn't broken, after all.
I wonder if it isn't a bit of a mistake to have binged these albums. If I had been listening to them as they came out, I think each one would feel more novel. While I can detect some small differences, these albums are pretty interchangeable in their sound. Of course, there's nothing wrong with being consistent, especially in quality.
I think on this album they do a better job of embracing their symphonic metal nature, really making the orchestrations a part of the song rather than just some epic flavor in the back. Still, this is a minor detail, as the trio still do what they do best. I will say that, as the albums have gone on, Ronnie isn't trying to sound like Dio quite so much, which is fine. He's got a great voice that stands on its own quite well. The songs have become pretty formulaic at this point, with Magnus's solos predictably drifting between melodic and shreddy. Not that I want each song to be completely different, but it's easy to fall into a single groove with this album (as with the others), so those expecting more variety might be disappointed.
Still, there are some stand out tracks. The title track and "Dust to Dust" have some traditional metal grit, while the opener "Choke Hold," "Adrenaline," "The Darkness That Divides," and "Mind Games" shows their strong symphonic side, and the sentimental "Dreams and Destiny" adds in some folky flutes for a good power ballad. However, the best track is "Mother Unholy," with that slow, ominous riffing, making me think of Lamenting of the Innocent by Sorcerer. With the church bells and choirs singing in Latin, it makes for a very dramatic song and the highlight of the album. As a whole, I don't know if this will be a Top 5 contender for 2025, but I do consider it another solid offering from a band that clearly knows what they want to do and do it well.
While that was another fun, short discography to binge through. One on hand, it's hard not to feel like this is just another side project for the three talented members, but I can't deny that what they've made is some above average melodic metal. As I was listening through, I did wonder if this hasn't become more of Magnus's thing, as his orchestrations and arrangements got bigger and more epic (not that I think the other two members were slacking at all). Still, I'm hard pressed to really say anything was particularly bad, and any of the four albums are recommendable to anyone missing the kind of classic 80s metal melodrama that Dio's band used to provide, backed by some well-made symphonic flourishes.
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