Resurrection

There is definitely something to be said for sticking to your guns and not allowing the tendencies of the crowd to dictate your choices, and if the 1990s were anything they were ultimately the test of who was truly in it for the long haul and who was going to sell out their roots in order to keep their name recognition going. Although Dungeon had existed as a band since the close of the 1980s and draw their sound heavily from that era, they are basically a part of the 1990s power metal revolution that was unapologetic in its desire to relive the fast and furious spirit that had been abandoned by many metal pioneers. They take their place among the likes of Gamma Ray, Iron Savior, Hammerfall, Pegazus, Metalium, and a host of others who brought back this music for a younger audience.

The best way to describe the sound of this album, which by the way is the re-recorded 2005 version containing all the bonus material, is as a catchier and somewhat less preachy version of Metalium. The songs tend to be fast and heavily influenced by Judas Priest, the vocals exemplify the inaccessibility of the power metal genre for anyone with less than a 3 octave singing range, and the overall vibe is a balance of peril and triumph. Most of the music on here is pretty conventional, placing the emphasis on a powerful chorus and a good set of hooks, which is common today but, circa 1999 had been something that had only recently come back into prominence. The best examples of this are found in “Paradise”, “Fight” and “Time to Die”; which rely on simplistic riffs and refrains containing richly harmonized backing vocal lines. The title track and “Wake Up” are also good examples of pretty much textbook power metal that are so well done that they are still highly exciting.

“Severed Ties” and “Judgment Day” showcase the band’s ability to mix in some occasional keyboard sounds, clean/acoustic guitar tracks and background effects yet still maintain that power metal edge. The former is a ballad that will likely conjure up comparisons to Hammerfall ballads from their first two albums, while the latter has a brief ballad-like segue before launching into more textbook speed metal. “I am death” is the most evil sounding of the bunch, mostly due to a much darker and dirtier sounding vocal delivery with few high screams in a similar fashion to some 80s thrash outfits. The closing song “The Legend of Huma” is the lone true epic of the bunch and touts a simple yet brilliant orchestral prelude before launching into a vocal narrative of legends and magic over an upper mid-tempo metal groove. Although pretty much every other song before this one has a bit more sing along value, as a fan of music that moves people to pay close attention, this song takes my pick as the high point of the album. It ranks up there with the likes of Gamma Ray’s “Rebellion in Dreamland” and Freedom Call’s “The Quest”, and contains a faster section in the second half that reminds me a bit of “Heaven and Hell”.

I’m not sure about how the original version of this album sounds, but the re-recorded version has an absolutely flawless production, better than anything that Metalium has put out to date. This version also contains 2 bonus non-album tracks that are also great examples of the classic textbook power metal style that Dungeon pulls off so well, as well as an all acoustic version of “Severed Ties” that almost listens like one of Manowar’s later ballads. If you like quality power metal with emphasis on the guitars and are not one of these negative creeps who absolutely can not appreciate something if someone else already did it, this is an album to get. This style of music has been done before, it’s still being done today, and with luck it will be with us for a good deal longer.