The fifth disc in the
Mob Rules catalogue,
"Ethnolution A.D." is a nice progression from their past productions. Alot of power metal fans are like the fantasy book lovers. They want escapism. Fairies and unicorns, the princess being saved from the wizard to live gleefully ever happy. Spoonfed saccharine fairy tales where the conclusion is always a positive one with good triumphing over evil. If that's what you require to escape into the world of power metal then you are in for a rude awakening. Not the typical power metal fare, you will find no references to neither dungeons nor dragons. Instead the band has decided to drag us through the evolution of our planet and the acts of the populace. Touching on social and religious issues (suicide bombings and the Klu Klux Klan) and earth changing events (the fall of the Berlin wall), this is definitely not a disc to be taken lightly. Reality punches you squarely in the face, leaving your lip busted and bleeding.
"Ashes to Ashes (Dust to Dust)" is the headliner. Thick and crunchy with a hefty toxic dose of melody, it comes off as a sweeping piece that is reminiscent of both
Kamelot and the early progressive business of Queensryche.
"Day and a Lifetime" is a cruel ballad that sees Klaus Dirk sounding like a combination of other German singers, mainly Lenny
Wolf and Klaus Miene. Pretty typical tune for a band from the genre, but with thicker guitars than usually found on lighter fare. The solo is a lively piece that bubbles and froths like the bottom of a waterfall where the rush of cascading wet meets the still pool underneath. Piano is sharp and poignant, slicing through the crashing metallic trappings with a crystal clarity.
"Unholy War" and
"Fuel to the Fire" are throwbacks to past
Mob Rules discs and have an epic flair that works well.
"Unholy" is a child of bombast, showcasing acoustic passages mixed with vocals that boldly challenge the flourishing fury of the chorus. Catchy as hell too, and also a flashback reminder of Edguy's "Vain Glory Opera" days. Klaus is channeling a mix of Tobias Sammet and Mark Boals here.
"Fuel to the Fire" starts out soft enough but picks up speed and power as the snowball rolls on till it finally gets up to a speedy clip. Nothing overly original on this piece though.
"Veil of Death" is stark and moody, a transition song that lets the echoing sorrowful guitar speak for itself. The electric is crying out in tormented anguish and the strings squeezed like blood drops from a bleeding heart. Created to touch a nerve, and it does, even if you are resisting this artificial button pushing of your emotions. How could you claim it is anything but beautiful...
Dark and punchy,
"Ain't the One" chugs along like a creepy, shady stalker before opening up its pained soul for the chorus. Not anything spectacular but the chorus is fairly sweet. It has an exotic flavor towards the end with nice guitar.
"River of Pain" is a blistering neo-classical fusion with needling guitars and
"With Sparrows" takes the midtempo route.
These are neither great nor groundbreaking but falling into the grey area of indifference. You likely won't be repulsed by their presence but they bring little to the table either. Kind of like green bean casserole at Thanksgiving dinner. No one particularly looks forward to it, you certainly aren't going to be carrying a torch for it all year long but its a dish rarely turned down either. Nor is it remembered too fondly after consumption. The rest of the
Mob Rules album is like that casserole. If the disc is being played, the songs are okay enough to sit through but suddenly out of the blue you are not going to say
"wow... I really would love to hear "New Horizon"
right now..." because it just isn't that great or different to warrant breaking out the disc for.
While I have viewed the disc as individual pieces, the first several tracks are intended to be parts to one single long-running epic. It includes the first seven "chapters" (songs) which do indeed make up the meat of the album and are where they spent the most time tweaking and mastering their trade. When heard as a single long-running track, it is a fabulous ride that dips from slow and subtle with classical influences to rip roaring double drum hammering dramatics to hymnic chaos. The way it has been seperated and broken apart is a welcome change though. This allows the songs to shine with their individuality, but yet can still be strung together and experienced as the one long epic, as intended. Bravo for not forcing us to sit through 25 minutes of self indulgence every time, yet still being proud and pompous enough to take the listener on a journey that can be relished in pieces or as a single entity.
"Ethnolution A.D." is a mixed bag overall but a giant step for the band and their placement in the power metal echelon. They are slowly working their way up from the bottom of the ladder to about a third rate band. No one is going to rank them with
Blind Guardian or
Stratovarius but they have managed to brush shoulders with
Freedom Call and
Heavenly at this point which is a giant leap of improvement. Their lyrical choices help them to stand out from the crowd as well, so a big kudos for daring to take that beyond the fantastical and ground it in the harshness of reality. Truth is often more stranger than fiction, and throwing that into the power metal fire sparks more interest than another Tolkien rip.
Mob Rules has made an interesting disc, one that will ensure them a stronger fanbase as they head into the future and hopefully an album number six.
Written by
Alanna Thursday, October 19, 2006
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