One could say that
Astral Doors' music sounds as a tribute to many of the classic Heavy Metal and Hard Rock bands that have and in many cases still roam the earth, even Nils Patrick's voice has a certain
Dio vibe about it. But there is nothing wrong with having a tight connection with ones roots and
Astral Doors succeed in sounding remarkably refreshing and inspirational even though they play a genre that has been around for ages.
A big strength concerning this album is the actual performances; you can just feel the energy and pure will that lies behind the band members' delivery of the music, expressive and rock solid on every front.
Something that gives this release a distinguished touch and set them apart from a lot of other Heavy Metal bands today is the organ arrangement; there is a vintage seventies feeling about that and most of the time it successfully creates that extra rich fundament.
We get thrown right into the action with the first powerful cut
Bride Of Christ; I'm very impressed by the dual lead guitar solo spot, really great and harmonious stuff.
Time To Rock is a back to basic song and as the title suggests it surely invites you to rock along.
Once in a while Nils Patrick Johansson's (also Wuthering Heights) voice gets a bit muddy as in the opening lines in this one; anyway this is a nice uncomplicated track with massive bass vibrations and a melodic organ solo spot.
One of my favourites is the pompous title track, starting out with some cool mystic organ sounds.
The heavy rhythm guitar work adds tons of weight to it and the two guitarist supports each other in a very dynamic way. I really dig the ultra groove in this one and the huge chorus holds things nicely together.
Overall Nils Patrik's very characteristic and raw edged voice goes well with this kind of music. He really puts a strong mark on
Lionheart with a great varied approach, this being another strong song with ingenious bass twists and playful organ jamming.
Fear In Their Eyes has been assigned with a rather unexciting chorus as a leading role, a part it can't really uphold. Still this is a decent song, the tight riffing and clever mid-section passage counts as successful elements.
The tendency to get a bit repetitive is also found in
From The Cradle To The Grave, the main rhythm is just too ordinary and I'm missing that thrilling break to steer it away from mediocrity.
The Flame pulls the album in a harder direction and some very intense drumming makes way for a great groovy style. The effusive axe solo matches the fast paced approach in a cool way.
At the end of the road
Path To Delirium slowly opens its sombre doors and again the epic dimension is brought into play through a slow but atmospheric structure, only to get broken by a great up-tempo passage.
Most of the album's songs are of quite high standard but there is just not much really killer material to be found which is shame, I really think this unit has something great going. The album doesn't have any calm songs, which would have balanced things out a bit, and interesting to hear too. Still this is all in all a good album that I will come back to once in a while.
The lyrical sphere is quite traditional; religious questions, war scenarios and Rock N' Roll living, not thrilling but reasonable writings.
You can't complain about the production either, a tight and direct result that fits the approach well.
Classic Metal can still sound inventive and refreshing, it's all about the way you go into it.
Written by
Tommy Monday, April 25, 2005
Show all reviews by TommyRatingsTommy: 6.5/10Members: 9.5/10 - Average of 1 ratings.
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Together with their last cd ("New Revelation"), this is my favorite Astral Doors release! ... · Read more · |
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