This is my first glimpse into the musical world of
Nostradameus, and I must say, I'm quite impressed with this Swedish band. I'd heard of their previous three albums but for one reason or another never took the time to listen to their stuff; though after giving
Hellbound a few listens, I'm definitely going to have to get their back catalogue. I've read that their earlier albums are, for the most part, average Power Metal records in the style of
Gamma Ray or Stratovarius, but
Hellbound is much more than standard Power Metal fare. For one thing
Nostradameus is much more aggressive and raw, especially in the vocal department, than most Power Metal bands. Vocalist Freddy Persson sings with a lot of raw emotion and power, and I would draw some comparisons to
Masterplan's
Jorn Lande here. Actually, the whole album seems like a combination of
Masterplan and Hammerfall, with some crunchy, Iced Earth-style riffs thrown in for good measure.
The Reaper's Image was the first song to grab me and slam my face into the ground with its intense riffs and screaming vocals. The second it starts, Freddy is screaming the first notes of the song and the guitars are ripping shit up; it gives the track a wild quality that doesn't let up until the end. The first couple of times I listened to this album, and this song in particular, I couldn't help but bang my head throughout the whole thing. If you're looking for a disc to headbang to, this is it! While a few tracks contain brief moments of acoustic guitars and slower rhythms, much like Iced Earth, it's only temporary and the headbanging goodness is never far behind.
The Reaper's Image is by far the best song on the album; the melodies are fantastic, it's heavy as shit, and all fans of Metal should have a ball with it.
The title track is another great piece. Slowing things down a bit,
Hellbound moves along at a steady, mid-tempo pace with heavy-ass guitars and a great performance by Persson. Like many of the tracks on this album, there's a great melodic guitar solo towards the middle. Guitarists Jake Freden and Michael Aberg never feel the need to show off with unnecessary shredding; all of their riffs and solos are well structured and compliment the songs perfectly.
The lyrics are one of the album's greatest strengths. While
Hellbound doesn't seem to be telling a story or building a singular concept,
Nostradameus does bring up many issues regarding the state of the world today, particularly how the level of morality appears to be going downhill for humankind (hence the title). With the amount of Power Metal I listen to, the Wizards and Warriors-style lyrics can get old sometimes, so the social commentary on
Hellbound is a nice change of pace. As mean and screaming as some of this album is, there's an overall positive vibe here with some good messages.
Apart from the two tracks I've detailed, the rest of the album is only slightly above average fare. While I can't recommend running out and buying this album right away, if you're a fan of aggressive Power Metal you really should check
Hellbound out. It's the perfect album to listen to if you're in the mood to bang your head for 45 minutes straight, and contains 10 solid Metal tracks. Check 'em out!
Written by
Matthew Thursday, December 30, 2004
Show all reviews by MatthewRatingsMatthew: 6.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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