Reviews: Dynazty, Crazy Lixx, Mantric Momentum, Ginger Evil (Matt Bladen)

Dynazty - Game Of Faces (Nuclear Blast Records)

Power metal, always a divisive genre for those who like it heavier but you know what music is supposed to be fun and Dynazty play power metal that is fun but also has a delightfully dark element to it as well. 

They’ve been around since 2008 so you’ll likely have seen them, supporting acts such as Sabaton, Powerwolf or Battle Beast, it’s this experience that is so obvious on Game Of Faces. The production glistens, bold and boisterous with Jens Borgen’s mixing making his wall of sound as firm as always, the clarity allows the songs to really make an impact, each instrument is huge and can be picked out from the muscular drumming (Fire To Fight), to the soaring vocals.

Dynazty play the more modern style of power metal, the one that is often classed as melodic metal, filled with poppy hooks and synths, fist pumping electro metal such as the first single Devilry Of Ecstasy. So yeah the synths are just as prominent as the guitars but never overtake their importance, tinkling in the background of the anthemic Die To Survive or Sole Survivor which take from the fantasy style of Hammerfall, Dark Angel though is blistering power metal al Stratovarius. It’s Euro-metal Jim and if Dynazty wanted to enter Eurovision they would absolutely smash it, each song imbuing you with joy and movement.

I found myself nodding my head involuntarily with every listen, though the lyrics are about the essence of the human mind and existence, self-discovery, spiritual death, rebirth and re-invention, the music is so bloody catchy that it could be a food recipe, Georg (drums and Jonathan’s (bass) rhythms move at pace. 

Set often against the synthetic elements they’re the backbone of proggier tracks such as Fortune Favours The Brave and drive the AOR of Phoenix too. Love and Mike trade off guitars, sharing the shredding and widdly power metal solos on Call Of The Night or the huge balladry of Dream Of Spring. This latter song also stretches the vocals of Nils Molin a man who adds so much Joey Tempest to Dynazty’s music.

Yes Europe, that’s the one! I may have said this before but Dynazty remind me so much of Swedish melodic rock legends Europe, especially the classic era of 1983-1992, but what I like is they know people know this and have put a little synthy Easter Egg in final song Mystery. Dynazty are leading the new wave of power/melodic metal, it’s bags of fun and will leave you smiling in the Game Of Faces. 9/10

Crazy Lixx - Thrill Of The Bite (Frontiers Music Srl)

The Swedes do hard rock well, Crazy Lixx do it very well, putting together a concoction hard rock, glam and hair metal. 

Let’s get the elephant in the room out in the open, with tracks such as Little Miss Dangerous, there’s a huge sonic influence of Def Leppard, the sneered vocals, the big chorus vocals, it’s straight out of Sheffield, via Sweden. 

Thrill Of The Bite follows Street Lethal in 2021 and their compilation of re-recorded tracks and covers Two Shots At Glory from 2024. These two albums showed a shift towards the Leppard slickness, the band having always been one that revels in the sounds of the late 80’s and early 90’s but now they’ve elevated with the current line up.

The Leppard sound is down to Danny Rexon’s vocals, he and bassist Jens Anderson have been the creative force since 2015’s Ruff Justice and this period has been the most fruitful for these retro rockers, but the glam posturing of their earlier records has been dampened by the continued movement towards a more guitar-driven sound, even when they bring the strutting Motley Crue-like Recipe For Revolution.

There’s a definitive focus on walking bass and the twin guitars of Jens Lundgren and Chrisse Olsson. It’s got that ‘street metal’ sound of Too Young To Fall In Love, while Robin Nilsson’s drums give pace to melodic rockers like Midnight Rebels and Final Warning.

This album continues the high quality of Crazy Lixx’s recent run of albums, don’t let them leave you High and Dry, come and feel the Thrill Of The Bite. 8/10

Mantric Momentum - Alienized (Frontiers Music Srl)

A Melodic metal act comprised of vocalist Terje Harøy (Pyramaze) and multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Christer Harøy (Divided Multitude, Crossnail), it certainly is going to up the epic scale. 

The first song, an intro, does this with choirs and strings and really it does stop being just full frontal bombast from here. Influenced by Pyramaze of course, but Kamelot, Firewind and Symphony X as well. Alienized is their second album and it doesn’t try to reinvent Mantric Momentum, chuggy riffs, melodic sections, strings and powerful vocals, but unlike the first album it features just one vocalist Terje, who happens to be the cousin of Christer.

If you like his superb vocals in Pyramaze then you’ll love them here as musically it’s a bit more straightforward than the Danish prog veterans but still has all the cinematic presence. Jacob Hansen produces so you know it will sound massive but with Terje singing on the compositions of Christer, Mantric Momentum feel more like a real band than just a one man project. 

Though instrumentally it is just Christer, he has a couple of guests but it is him from guitars through to drums. Be it the anthemic metal of Siren’s Call, the heavier A Stronger Stance or the big ballad Remember, Mantric Momentum deliver some great melodic metal on this second album, which is really the debut for them as an actual band format. 8/10

Ginger Evil - The Way It Burns (Frontiers Music Srl)

Finnish rockers Ginger Evil, began their life as Moonshine Inc, they couldn’t find a vocalist and played with some other bands but then brought it back, finally discovering the soulful vocals of Ella Tepponen, founding members Tomi Julkunen (guitars) and Veli Palevaara (bass) finally finding their singer and gaining in drummer in Toni Mustonen completed what was now Ginger Evil. The songs came quickly with the bluesy rock vibes of their first incarnation, put together with the modern alt rock/grunge sound, of a band such as Foo Fighters. 

It’s very radio friendly, a track like Flames bordering on pop rock with its dreamy composition, that’s part Cranberries, part Sheryl Crow. There’s some Rolling Stones, a bit of Pearl Jam and a smattering of The Who, a band that have collaborated with music producer/film director Richard Stanley in the past, Stanley was inspired by Ginger Evil’s music and wrote them some lyrics. 

So The Way It Burns is crafted for the mainstream, to reach the biggest audience possible, warts n all production that adds some smoky strings to the beautiful Beth Hart-like ballad Arrowhead, while the scrubbed acoustics are used well on the trippy middle section of the funky Better Get In Line as Whispers has some Heart or Fleetwood Mac aping to it.

There’s a lot of talent but it basically sounds like the acceptable face of the 90’s alternative scene? Listen to it and you’ll know what I mean. It’s very catchy and un-offensive good time rock, the vocals being the best part. 7/10