This album is an amazing achievement. 14 songs (all good) that in their own unique way make up a very varied and challenging release, at least for a more traditional Power Metal act. In my world this is a must for fans of Power Metal in general.
Intensity is a key word; this also goes for the production that has been given a very raw and vigorous treatment, keeping everything crisp and clear at the same time.
A broad tour of the album should give an idea of what to expect.
The fast and "right in your face" bangers are served in plenty. The crushing
Black In Mind being one of the best, the harmonious dual guitar solo sounding amazing.
Forever is a tight smasher containing heavy riffs, powerful diverse drums and a memorable lead guitar lick. Peavy's energetic vocals having a cool varied approach.
With
Start! we find a quite positive sounding track due to a great melodic refrain that nevertheless doesn't keep the rhythm section from being deep and heavy to the root, the guitar solo having a nice technical vibe going.
A song like
Alive But Dead adds a more grooving aspect to the record, a deep and mean bass lays a massive base and the slow guitar riff comes out very powerful. A fantastic and well-structured cut.
In A Nameless Time is a three-parted 10-minute atmospheric epic, something
Rage fortunately would continue to develop in the years to come. This composition really has it all, including a catchy chorus, creative acoustic guitars, melodic leads and an innovative contra bass/violin part.
All This Time is the ending ballad, starting with some thrilling acoustic guitar passages, before beautiful string arrangements set in. The bombastic chorus hits with a striking force and the mid-section break featuring Peavy perform some great melodic vocal lines is another amazing passage. The bass really comes to life during these calmer songs, being very rich and giving extra dynamic to the compositions.
These two songs are some of the bands best and it's refreshing to hear them try out something new, well fitted into a more typical
Rage universe that is.
Not all songs are just as captivating or possessing the same amount of great ideas, but it's hard to say much that doesn't work well. Some choruses are used a bit much but nothing really critical, as in
A Spiders Web, on the other side this song has a fierce drive that is a big plus.
Peavy's rough and expressive voice is a perfect match for this kind of music and in general the execution of these songs fall into the category of highly well performed music. I'm especially fond of the guitar solos, containing a special unbound force and coupled with lots of melody. The riff section is nailed down with firm precision and the drumming is mega forceful without being exactly spellbinding.
I think that the intensity of the music is nicely accompanied by some very good and fitting lyrics. A critical view of greed and war is the theme of some songs, others look more closely at ways of getting out of personal crisis', while the topic of facing and dealing with death is another main event.
Summing up:
Extreme power with an ingenious touch.
Written by
Tommy Monday, July 5, 2004
Show all reviews by TommyRatingsTommy: 8.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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