When thinking of power metal, France is not exactly the country you would pinpoint for bringing the goods, but
Heavenly is out to change your mind and prove you wrong. This is their fourth disc, the first being "Coming From the Sky". That debut received a nice amount of buzz in the underground, and was highly applauded for being... not particularly original, but a very solid effort of pure power metal. Two more discs came afterward bringing the same melody injected speedy metal to the table, and now here we are at
"Virus". `
"Virus" is more happy music that is hopped up on speed and some quirky keyboards. Think in terms of Gamma Ray. Its hard not to crack a smile, start headbanging and crank up the speakers to eleven. Cliched and rather generic at its nature, but hard to resist. Unlike alot of the other bands out there in this genre, you can feel their sheer glee and love for the music shining through every song. Its an uplift for the soul. The musicians are tight as a drum too, with bouts of virtuosity in the joyous riffing, racing drumming and crazy climatic solos. They have matured in all the right places, becoming heavier than in the past. This allows the cheerful melodic edge and
Queen influenced tendencies to be even more apparent than before.
Highlights include the fast flurry of the super melodic
"When the Rain Begins to Fall" that is jampacked with sizzling guitars, flying vocals and some truly different sounding keyboards. The keys inject a sense of progressiveness into the music. It leaves you spinning in a flurry of cheese grinning happiness.
"Spill Blood On Fire" is a secure piece with an absolutely mind blowing chorus that is sing-song catchy and guitars that twist and spiral around with wild, often surprising abandon. The balance between metal and melody is superb, they have found just the perfect mixture for optimum enjoyment. Songs like these are a reminder of why you fell in love with power metal in the first place.
"Liberty" is an anthemic tune that is built around double drum pounding and sizzling guitars. The vocals switch from understated and warped to higher flying theatrics. It also reminds me of the heavier/speedier
Virgin Steele stuff like "Through Blood and Fire".
There are a handful of tunes that just don't quite keep up with the quality of the rest, mainly
"The Power & Fury" which offers little in the way of innovation or uniqueness. Most songs on here sport really catchy choruses but this one comes across mediocre at best. It is one of the few downers among the ten here. Other goodies include
"Wasted Time" which has some great backing vocals and the whole song will make you reflect on
Iron Maiden from the late 80s.
"The Prince of the World" is also of note since it brings those frantic twisting keyboards back into prominence for great effect.
The main drawback is that the band simply is not innovative enough. The entire album creates a sense of deja vu, like you have heard this all before in some other time and place, and likely you have. With such a glut of power acts out in about in the metal industry right now, the competition is fierce and its easy to repeat themes when there are simply so many bands doing similar discs. The professionalism and tightness on
"Virus" help to set it apart, even when it falls head over heels for clichés. Memorable tracks and those that will be forgotten on the wind by tomorrow are about neck and neck even which brings the album to a place that sits above average. With more tightening of the songs and some fuel to the creative fire,
Heavenly is poised to go places if they can just step it up another notch and focus on uniqueness like seen in the catchy/strange dancy infectious
"When the Rain Begins To Fall". This is a blooming example of where they need to go. Further exploration of music such as that and less dependant on staples like
"The Power & Fury". Both are good songs but when it comes down to it which will you remember far into the future? The typical metal workout or the trippy creative piece?
"Virus" is a fitting name, since this release is as contagious as the name suggests. The tempo rarely dips, as one heavy hitter is delivered after another. No true ballad is offered either, and this omission can be seen as a blessing or a curse depending on the audience.
Heavenly fans can buy this blind, and for anyone else, you can slot this right in beside Gamma Ray, Sonata Arctica, 90s Stratovarius, and even Edguy.
Heavenly have really upped the ante with this one. An impressive disc that milks the melodic angle with effortless ease. Those that have just discovered power metal from hearing
Dragonforce should also look into this to broaden your horizons. Not quite a grade A band yet, but they sure are improving and pulling a few tricks on the standard formula.
Written by
Alanna Sunday, November 5, 2006
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