Diversity

First, I want to qualify my own tastes:
I like heavy, layered, energetic and, perhaps above all, catchy music. Some of my favorite bands, for reference, are Aether Realm, Dragonforce, Twilightning, Solar Fragment, Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire, Angra, Aquaria, Derdian and Godslave, just to name a few.

I think one of the most important things for a reviewer is to establish with the reader what it is he likes, not only so that the reader can understand the reviewer's perspective on the album he's reviewing, but so that he reader knows whether the reviewer's taste matters to him. As you can see by the bands listed above, I like a diversity of vocal styles, and within the power metal genre I like a variety of styles from hyper dense orchestral music like Blind Guardian, to power-death in the vain of Ensiferum, to guitar-driven, thrashy music like Godslave. It's important to note that the quality of the melodies is paramount in my taste. I like technical proficiency, high levels of skill in general, densely layered instrumentation, and more, but if the melody isn't well-crafted then I'm out, and only 10% will be left at the table.

So to the band. I'll try to start with generally objective information. This is a thrash-cum-power metal band. The general sound is of driving, thrashy guitar riffs overlaid with keyboard work to add some melodic sensibilities. The vocalist has a very gritty, somewhat strained voice, but it can be fairly melodic when he wants it to be. The songs range from 3 to 7 minutes.

You can see I gave the album a 50%, so there's no reason for me to try burying the lead: The album isn't particularly good. Production-wise, it's decent. Not spectacular, but nothing that's going to make you skip it on the sound quality alone. Dynamically, of course, it's crushed to a DR6, so if you're hoping to hear punch in the drums or any kind of dynamism you can forget it, but that's typical of music in general these days.

The issues are not in the music itself, but in the writing of the melodies, or "melody-crafting," as I've decided just now that I like to call it. The music itself, as demonstrated on the 7-minute instrumental epic "The Fate of Atlantis," is pretty good. Not spectacular, but solid, a good 7 out of 10. It's got enough melody, it's got energy, it has enough ideas and technical skill going into it to stay relatively interesting.

The problem is that whenever the lead starts singing, he has nothing of interest to sing. It's either half-spoken, or the vocal melodies are so bland that he might as well have just made them up on the spot. The choruses, on average, range from "almost good but not" to "utterly banal," and this is where the music's "solid" aspect is a weakness: If the music were a 9 out of 10, it might have been able to save the subpar choruses. What's even worse is that the verses are sometimes excellent, such as on the catchy and energetic "The End of the Universe," in which there's a great keyboard section piercing through some chugging riffs, sounding like a Contra level from the Super Nintendo era; or the aggressive and passionate verse on "Prey" that should by all means lead into a killer chorus, but whose chorus is just a sad, soggy piece of toast toppling asunder from forefinger and thumb.

This is essentially what is to be expected for most of the album—but only MOST of it. There's actually a gem. Three, to be certain.

First is Commandos, which, as soon as it starts, you can tell is going to be a right banger. A halting staccato plays in the left ear, the drums and guitars explode in the right, and then the music cuts out and a voice, spoken through an old handheld two-way radio, says, "Fire at will," and then the music comes bursting in with a thrashy assault. Melodically, this verse is a cut above most of the others. The bridge is a solid, melodic and energetic one, doing a good job of transitioning into a chorus of "Commandos!" shouted with gang vocals, while the driving force of the chorus is a slick lead guitar line. Again, this kind of calls to mind old Super Nintendo games, particular games like Contra. The instrumental section has a mix of lead keyboard and guitar switching off and intermingling that finally lets off into the bridge, then chorus, all sung with zeal by the lead singer who shows in this kind of track that he is charismatic enough to carry a song that is written well.

The last thing I'll say on this track is that I normally don't like choruses that are just repeating the same phrase over and over, in this case, "Commandos!" Yet the strength of the music, and the context in which the chorus is placed, makes it work. I recommend listening to this song if you get a chance, just to see how well these elements are woven together.

The other two songs I won't elaborate upon in detail, but I'll give you the gist:

Destination Unknown starts with what sounds like a drum solo played inside of a restaurant bathroom being recorded on someone's cellphone. I, I, I don't know what that's about. This is a different song, opening aside, as the singer sings mostly with very clean vocals. This sort of demonstrates the limits of his voice as he doesn't seem capable of much technical prowess with clean vocals; however, he compensates by throwing out harsh-vocal flourishes. This song's a bit more melodic, and actually employs a second lead singer, a female who herself is pretty decent and I imagine could have carried this CD if she'd been the singer instead, although I personally really like the main singer's harsh vocals. They're charming in a "just good enough and trying really hard" kind of way. Anyway, the premier here is the melody and counter-melody between the two lead singers. It works quite well, and since the music is always at least solid, this track is entertaining.

The last good track is Worthless Heart, which forgoes the thrash on the verses and writes some basic balladry. It's catchy though with some meaty drum snare. The bridge is equally melodic with a full, swelling sound that leads into a somewhat somber chorus with gritty vocals. It works. There's a great pitch-shift on the final chorus and the singer's charisma, along with some nice lead guitar work, carries it to the end.


I listened to the album a couple times, really trying to ensure I wasn't missing anything. The three good tracks are SO good, and the other tracks so mediocre, that when I listen to the good tracks I begin to think, "Man, the other tracks must be better than I'm giving them credit for, I should listen again"; and then when I listen to the bad tracks, I begin to think, "There's no way the same guys who wrote this tripe also wrote the good tracks; those "good" tracks must be worse than I'm remembering." Each subsequent listen reaffirms my initial assessment, however.

So we have an agonizingly subpar album dotted with some extraordinary, melodic-thrash highlights. If you buy digital, you can just buy those three tracks from Amazon and you're good to go. I bought the full album because I like to own physical copies. Maybe they'll hit us with another album that consists of only highlights next time. They have the potential, that's for dang sure, and I'd love to see the spotlight on these guys.

But if they don't, or won't, then they're sure to remain invisible.


Standout Tracks: Commandos, Worthless Heart, Destination Unknown