Out of Germany comes another Power Metal band, drawing on influences from acts such as
Helloween,
Blind Guardian and
Rhapsody.
Galloglass' second album,
Heavenseeker offers some quite fine melodies and refrains that stick to your brain. At least I have found myself humming a few of their tunes lately. The band uses a fair share of different instruments, and even has a "Metal violinist" appearing on the album, underlining their folk influence. This works fine in a song like
After Forever, where the violin makes a huge difference in the sound, while still used sparsely. This is one of the better songs, a nice melody, diverse vocals and a feeling of sense for detail.
The band is fairly skilled, but nothing really provides the jaw-hits-floor effect, if you know what I mean. Nothing is really overly amazing. The guitar work is pretty solid, melodic at times, but mostly just playing the rhythm, and I miss a bit more soloing. Singer,
Carsten Frank is nothing out of the ordinary, he can sing, yes, but again, nothing about his performance really stands out as mindblowing.
A song like
Dawn Of A New Age could be a real hit, the chorus is extremely catchy, but also overused and too much in front, being sung by a choir and mixed all up in front. The melody has a happy feeling to it, and this should appeal to the few of us Power Metal lovers left, that haven't already heard the same thing done too many times. Songs like the harder
Perished In Flames and the more bombastic titletrack also have a certain appeal, melodic and easy to get into as they are. The last song,
Kings Who Die provides a ballade-like appeal, which actually works. A bittersweet hymn with a chanting choir sets a sad and epic mood. A stand-out song on
Heavenseeker.
Unfortunately, the album could use a little thing called identity. If music is not the least bit inventive, all that's left to make up for that is attitude, charm or over-the-top amazing songwriting.
Galloglass possesses none of the qualities, leaving me to conclude that the album is yet another so-so release.
If Power Metal is your thing, you'll probably find something to like here, as did I, but listening before buying is recommended. There's nothing that totally sucks on the album, it just misses that extra something to make it truly spectacular. Maybe
Galloglass will hit bull's eye with their next release.
Written by
Nina Friday, February 17, 2006
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