Tony O'Hora was the vocalist that gave
Praying Mantis their second lease on life. Or perhaps it was their third. Anyhow, it was a new birth for the band and with his fine pipes, they were able to capture a new appreciative audience with both Forever In Time and Nowhere To Hide. After he left the band should have folded since the mixed vocalist affair, The
Journey Goes On was nowhere near the kind of quality that made long time listeners of the band proud to name them as a favorite. After his departure, we didn't hear much from him as he went about teaching at a music college and then became the frontman for Sweet. Once freed from the constraints of Sweet it was time to put an album together, and who better to step in and set up shop than the guitar and songwriting sorcerer Magnus Karlsson.
Everything Magnus has touched lately has turned to gold. Just look toward the Allen/Lande and
Starbreaker (Tony Harnell) discs that made 2005 such an exciting year to be into metal. He contributes the majority of inspiration for these cds and then just lets the vocalist run wild. Songs are tight as can be, undeniably metal, but with a certain melodic magic that makes them standout among the rest. Throw in an assortment of tempting guitar solos and you have
Escape Into the Sun, yet another fantastic outlet for Karlsson's talents. Like his other two achievements, this one can be summed up in the same four words: Big, bold, beautiful and brilliant.
The album could be considered a tad top and bottom heavy, for the tracks that garner the most attention are stacked right at the opening or at the close.
Broken Soul is a temptest whirlwind of energy and a vocal hook that leaves you mesmerized and breathless. This is followed by the more mellow and heftily melodic title track that charms with its dazzling chorus and smooth overall approach. I love the lazy opening with the spectacular guitars and then the vocals kick in softly and slightly depressed before blazing into that magnificent chorus.
No More Innocence hits like a ten ton hammer and lets Tony just blast his lungs for maximum effect. Great to hear him in such top form after such an absence from the recorded medium.
High Enough has a slinky, introspective feel and is power packed with piano and gorgeous guitars. Very reminiscent of
Praying Mantis when he was at the helm.
My Final Prayer takes the piano goodness to another level as the duo skyrockets into the heavens for an emotional twister of a ballad. This is one that has guts and punch, thus not leaving you stranded with only a feeling of mush but of soulful manipulation.
Dreamless Nights is a more docile play on the
Starbreaker formula. There is a slight nod of modern stylings about it, but it is just a sprinkling. This is to get you prepared for the next track, which dives headfirst into that vat of moderness.
More Than We Know cranks up the crunch and delivers as a hard hitting piece that has a driving drum sound and some biting guitar work.
Close To Me works as a melodic take on current TNT, and Karlsson manages to get an array of great licks in here too. Just gotta love the clean yet dominating string bending taking place throughout this one.
Evil Love gets my vote for just being plain awesome. The gauntlet of power metal is thrown down and no prisoners are to be taken at all. The song lurches into a speedy mode and then comes screeching to a vibrantly dark halt as the title is growled by Tony. A very different approach compared to the other songs on display here and that is only a portion of what makes it such a standout. The song is so polished with every instrument in just the right place, that you can't help but be astounded by the turn taken here. Great stuff.
I can feel some of
Dio and
Helloween mixing and matching in
Black Wings, yet another track that hits hard but does not skimp on the melodies. Tony belts with such prominence and focused passion that his performance alone is enough to make heads turn. Of course it doesnt hurt one bit that the song is so well written either.
Start All Over turns us back towards the melodic energy that dominated the first half of the album. The guitars just seem to sing right along with the lead voice as it takes us into the bridge before the explosive chorus. Little touches like these make Karlsson penned material so wonderful to partake in.
Never Alone is the parting gift of the album, and it is a nice piece that captures the spirit of prog/power ballads. It is absolutely bathed in piano which sounds nice, and has a touch of pomp just to be on the safe side. Nicely done, and a good closer, even if it is not spectacular.
For those that believed Magnus Karlsson could be out of ideas and tricks after pulling double duty last year with his two tremendously successful projects, I hate to disappoint you, but he has done it again. And let us not beat around the bush, while this CD is bannered under the O'Hora name, it is Magnus that handles every single instrument you will hear, writes the music and even gives us this perfectly polished production. He is such a massive talent and Tony is blessed to have been lucky enough to be teamed up with someone that not only puts his name back on the hard rock map, but does it with style, substance and fanfare.
Is
Escape Into the Sun as good as the Allen/Lande project? Not by any means, but it is still a triumph for this duo. A great CD and one that I am certain will hold its own as the year progresses. A surefire winner for anyone that enjoyed
Starbreaker, Allen/Lande,
Praying Mantis, Last Tribe, and even a hint of
Magnum if you pick apart the melodies.
Written by
Alanna Wednesday, February 8, 2006
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