The Bell

Yet another review from a German so-called speed metal band. Well, while I largely disagree with that style category for them, Stranger still had some speedy moments back in the mid 80s. However, this band didn't survive long and probably disappeared in the 90s like many other bands from that time. They ended up releasing a very poor album in 1989 showing a complete different band because of their major change of style, going from heavy/power metal to some kind of rock/AOR. They never really caught the attention of much people even back then, and the main reason why I got to listen to them is because they are linked in some ways to Chroming Rose. While I really liked the first record "Louis XIV" from these guys, which sounded much like Helloween late 80s stuff, the album of the band reviewed here has a different approach and a level of energy much lower.

The album being released back in 1985, when the genre of speed or extreme metal emerged, Stranger were kind of left off behind bands like Helloween, Grave Digger or Running Wild. At first this album did not really brought any interest to me, but I still ended up listening to it in case something great would come out of it. Featuring nine tracks and a total length of 36 minutes, the album has a cheap, but interesting cover art as well. On the actual music, the album gives a confusing impression of its overall vibe and sound when it kicks off with the first track, which is the album title one "Bell". Yes, it sounds like speed metal with its fast-paced riffs, intense solos, but I wish that the album really sounded like this for its whole length. When I was linking Chroming Rose with Stranger, it was mainly because of its singer "Gerd Salewski". He delivers a decent performance on this album, but like I said before, the level of intensity is lower and does not show up his true potential as a singer. The second track called "Wheels" still managed to keep my attention with its catchy chorus and entertaining main guitar riff, but the rather boring follower "Midnight Angel" appeared to be really out of context compared to the first two songs.

What we can already notice on this album is a band that does not really know what kind of music they really want to play. While the song "Woman" has a cool main riff, it doesn't bring much more on the table. However, the worst part is when the band shift of music style beginning with "I Hold You", which is not even a metal song at all. It actually sounds like what you would hear in their AOR album in 1989, and this is the problem with "The Bell". The album already has that musical approach with another track like "Broken Harmonies". The remaining songs are also not that interesting, to be quite honest. I thought that the six minutes of length "Hazle the Witch" would be some kind of epic, but it was not, it was boring and nothing much was going on, with its repetitive chorus that I was already tired of at first listen. At least we have two decent tracks like "Bright Fog" and "Garden of Evil" that keep this album out of the mediocrity category, for me at least.

What I really enjoyed on this album though is the production work. The album was recorded in the Musiclab studio, in which many legendary albums were recorded of bands like Sodom, Kreator, Helloween, Grave Digger and more. So, I had nothing, but positive things to say about the sound on this album. Despite sounding great, the music wrote for the album does not manage to contest any other albums of bands mentioned in this review. Unfortunately, I would only listen to this album casually as I become tired pretty quickly of hearing it. You may find something interesting on "The Bell", but be warned to have no high expectations from such album, even if there are still some good things to hear on it.

Favorite tracks:

Bell
Bright Fog
Garden of Evil
Wheels

I found this thing in a Russian MP3 site (yes, they are all the same, they last a couple of weeks but have a few rare gems), and all I can say that it was a grateful surprise.

Stranger are a nice band from Germany that joins all the classic tradition of German Speed/Power Metal, such as Helloween’s Walls of Jericho or the early material of Blind Guardian. Also some Iron Angel influence.

Nevertheless, the main character here is the vocalist (I think Gerd Salewski is his name) who shows some heavy influence from early NWOBHM (BTW, check “Woman” bassline, the same ones from S. Harris) and specifically Angel Witch. For some reason this guy heavily reminds me of Kevin Heybourne, and so some over-melodic tunes featured here (Midnight Angel, the title song says it all).

No dull tracks in this LP, just the ballad (I Hold You) seems a little awkward, all the rest are completely enjoyable, specially the title track, Midnight Angel and Bright Fog (the first riffs are total killers).

The production is quite decent, the only detail is a small trouble in the guitar’s sound. Speaking of Guitars, the soloing of some tracks is quite good, but it tends to be a “no-surprise-justdoingmyjobinthesong” tune, with the exception of the last song “Broken Harmonies” a mid-tempo song whitch features a nice guitar work in the last two minutes.

If you like 80’ Traditional Metal, you’ll devour this one.