Gathering Of Kings: Discovery (RN Records)
Ah another Gathering Of Kings album and another chance to indulge in some big AOR rocking. Their debut record First Mission (JAnuary 2019) garnered an 8/10 from me when it was released so I rushed to check out this follow up. On the first record I compared Victor Olsson's project to the Phenomena records along with the more modern Avantasia albums too. Yep it's a multi-person collaborative effort with every song tailored for the vocalist featured on it while keeping the musicianship relatively similar. Olsson takes the majority of guitars, bass and keys with the drums spread between Efraim Larsson (ex-Diamond Dawn) and Jonas Källsbäck (Night Flight Orchestra) additional players are Nalle Påhlsson (Therion/Vindictiv) on bass and Joel Selsfors/Erik Gafvelin Wiss on keys.
Vocally many of the singers from the previous effort re-appear, Immediately you hear Apollo Papathanasio (Spiritual Beggars, We Are The Dead) on Riders Of The Light he take's two songs as does Rick Altzi (At Vance) who lends his gritty pipes to Heaven's On The Run a big AOR rocker. The lion's share come from Tobias Jansson (Saffire) who has a soulful delivery on the balladic The One That Got Away and the bouncy Lorelei with Alexander Frisborg who co-writes most of the lyrics, taking the remaining two. Discovery remains in a similar style to the debut record that does AOR well, the multiple singers giving every song a different identity. Does it get the same score? You bet it does! 8/10
Course Of Fate: Mindweaver (Rock Of Angels Records)
Ah Norwegian progressive metal...usually much more cerebral and heavier than many of the European prog/power bands while retaining those melodic elements that come from the extensive use of keys and atmosphere. Mindweaver is the debut album from Course Of Fate a band formed in 2003. Their last release was an EP in 2013 so this album has been a while in production, which could be due to the drummer's involvement in the Holter project's, one of which featured Nils K Rue from Pagan's Mind a band who Course Of Fate sound a lot like. However they have a lot more ambient and classic prog rock sounds along with the crisper metal riffs, a song such as Utopia is a great example of this, using an emotional at time theatrical delivery similar to American band Queensryche or even Evergrey. Lyrically the album deals with emotions and mental health meaning that the music follows suit by being dark and direct, there aren't huge flights of fancy with tonnes of solos, the songs are more reserved and deftly delivered relying on complex playing but never detracting from the songs. A debut album of Norwegian progressive metal that is very similar to any of the other numerous bands never really bothering the leaders, though as a debut it charts what the future may hold for Course Of Fate. 6/10
Voices Of Ruin: Path To Immortality (M-Theory Audio)
When you're all ready to review a melodic death metal band and the album opens with an ambient shimmering guitar instrumental, it is a little bit of a surprise, however as soon as Carved Out opens the record properly you are thrust right back into the territory of Amon Amarth and Children Of Bodom. Path To Immortality is the third full length from the Southern California based band, but their fusion of death metal and classic heavy/power metal leads pays homage to the Swedish melo-death scene with a big Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquillity and In Flames all audio influences on songs such as the title track which builds from it's groove driven beginning into the speedier solo section at the end, Suffering Silence brings some more thrashier riffs and some soaring lead work.
The album was produced by Machine Head/Soulfy guitarist Logan Mader (Gojira, SepticFlesh) and he's made it shine showcasing the bands talent of ragers like Reach Toward The Sky which really brings Amon Amarth to mind, in that it sounds like Twilight Of The Thunder Gods. Herein lies the problem which is that I've always found melo-death bands to be a little samey, yes they play well and are at times more accessible to a wider audience than straight up death metal, but the songs are very similar meaning that either the albums whizz by with little deviation or the slog with sameiness. Path To Immortality is a good melo-death record and fans will lap it up. 7/10
Tyrant: Hereafter (Shadow Kingdom records)
Pasadena, California's Tyrant have been going 41 years! Formed by bassist Greg May in 1978 they released a slew of albums between 1985 and 1987, even being featured on Metal Blade records seminal Metal Massacre II and being signed to the label. Then they released another record in 1996 but as with so many bands they went through a period of change with no releases and line up switching. There most recent history started in 2017 with May and long term guitarist from the old days Rocky Rockwell adding Ronnie Wallace on drums (2010) and former Candlemass/Solitude vocalist Robert Lowe all of which has lead to their fourth album Hereafter. But! I hear you cry! Is it any good? Well I guess the honest answer would be that it's ok, it certainly sounds like a band who haven't released an album since 1996, at least production-wise, the record is really grainy and a bit wishy washy, the drums are too high in the mix and the trebles are too low. I guess the songwriting is adequate, there's riffs pinched from Candlemass, Sabbath and the like, most of the songs sit in a mid-pace with the occasional foray into acoustics and strings but nothing sticks and it's probably a few tracks too long. Their die-hards may have been waiting many years for this and greet it as the second coming but unfortunately for the more casual listener it's below average. 4/10
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