Relentless

This one is for the nostalgic fans out there who grew up listening to Queensrÿche and have played the vinyl of Empire until the grooves wore down. Sweet Oblivion is a project that Italian record label Frontiers put together in 2019 with the aim to bring back Geoff Tate to the sound of Queensrÿche classic metal albums of the 80s. The label built a band of expert musicians from the Italian power/progressive metal scene around the legendary singer, and in 2019 Sweet Oblivion released their self-titled debut album. Fast forward two years, and Sweet Oblivion’s sophomore album Relentless hits the shelves early this April, delivering pretty much what it says on the tin: 43 minutes of melodic classic metal that will bring you back to the sound of Queensrÿche between Empire and Promised Land. So, is it worth it? Or are you better off by simply buying a new copy of that worn-out Empire vinyl?

Well, although Relentless does not push any boundaries whatsoever, it is a surprisingly good album that I am struggling to drop off my playlist. Its main strength? It has three/four killer songs that, if you close your eyes and forget this is 2021, can bring you straight back to those magic Queensrÿche years. And that cannot possibly be a bad thing. “Strong Pressure”, the album’s first single, is a perfect example of all that is good about this album. Written around a crisp and dynamic guitar riff, the song builds a driving rhythm that culminates in a brooding, anthemic chorus that is 100% pure Geoff Tate. Filtered, spoken background vocals add a touch of modernity, but they last just a couple of seconds before guitarist Aldo Lonobile (Secret Sphere, Timo Tolkki's Avalon, Archon Angel) sweeps in with a shimmering solo. “Anybody Out There” and the sweet acoustic ballad “I’ll Be the One” are two other tracks that really come close to reproducing the magic sound of the iconic American band, and are certainly among the best songs of the album.

Predictably, the songwriting of the album is mainly geared to cater to Tate’s everlasting vocal talent. Epic, anthemic mid-tempos abound and so do those moody atmospheres that give Tate the space he needs for his dramatic voice to shine. The flip side of this is that, in several songs, the instrumental background is nothing to write home about. The guitar keeps busy providing texture and distortion, rather than strong riffs or melodic leads. The rhythm section drives a solid groove that may be unspectacular but gets the job done. The keyboards are used sparingly to add atmosphere and rarely take a lead role. At times, the lack of a more interesting instrumental basis takes its toll on the album, especially as it enters its mid-section with songs like “Wake Up Call” and “Remember Me” that feel a bit too predictable and samey for my taste.

However, the album has also one or two moments where things take slightly unexpected turns, bring in a breath of fresh air. “Another Change” is a poppier number, featuring a beautiful, almost AOR chorus that caught me by surprise the first time I heard it. But the biggest surprise is perhaps “Aria”. This is a powerful up-tempo that, musically, is probably the most interesting song of the album, thanks to some very inspired guitar work. The surprise is that on this one Tate decided to try and tackle the pronunciation challenges of Italian language by singing in Italian. Does it work? Not really. As a native Italian speaker, I cannot help but cringe at Tate’s inventive pronunciations of the lyrics. If I didn’t understand Italian, I am not sure what I would make of this experiment, either. Overall, this one leaves me scratching my head with a big question mark (namely: why?).

Despite one or two missteps, Relentless is a thoroughly enjoyable record that gives Tate some strong material where he can stretch his still impressive vocal skills. Is the album as good as those early Queensrÿche records that it promises to hark back to? Not really, but in a couple of songs it does get damn close. And, hell, it is certainly much better than a lot of material that Queensrÿche themselves released from Hear in the New Frontier onwards. So, if you are a fan of the man or the band, I’d say this one is pretty much unmissable.

[Originally written for The Metal Observer]