If you know and like
Heavenly then all you need to know is that this is their heaviest and best release so far and you should be running for the record store. All others should know that
Heavenly play Power Metal with a lot of melody and many symphonic elements. This is their third album and it finds them evolving into a heavier and more bombastic direction, turning more towards Rhapsody than towards, say, Helloween.
Heavenly have never been the most original band in the world, but their music has always had a special quality that intrigued me since I first listened to their debut.
This is a concept album about a man turned into a vampire, walking through the centuries thirsting for revenge. It is a pretty dark concept and my first thought was that this wouldn't fit very well with the happy melodies and overall positive vibe of the music
Heavenly is known for. After listening to the album I only feel this way about certain parts of the album, but as no lyrics came with this promo it is hard to judge it 100%. This time the music has become more aggressive, heavier and more atmospheric, which is nicely in tune with the concept. The more aggressive direction is also due to singer Ben Sotto, who sings in a very raw voice in many passages. I hope that he will develop this part of his voice in the future, so that it will get even more deep and evil. That is one area where I see some great possibillities.
Some people claim that Ben Sotto must be the bastard son of Michael Kiske... Well, then you can also add Kai Hansen (
Gamma Ray), Timo
Kotipelto (
Stratovarius), Andre Matos (Shaman /
Angra) and Tobias Sammet (
Edguy / Avantasia) to the list of his forefathers. Ben Sotto is instantly recogniseable to me and that he somehow manages to sound like all these singers combined into one, is pretty amazing.
The band is very tight and technically there is a lot to enjoy. Keyboard, bass, drums and a dual guitar attack all blend into a great mixture. The production is
Heavenly's best yet. A very clear sound with a nice deep drum sound, making the overall great drum work stand out. I feel the keyboard is a little dominating though, sometimes playing along with the guitars a little too much. Talking about the guitar work, that is another very enjoyable part of the album, with many heavy riffs and solos that are fast, melodic and to the point.
Another improvement is in the songwriting department. Even the long songs feel very compact and everything flows very well. There are no long drawn out passages as was sometimes the case on their earlier albums.
After a mood setting intro
Evil blasts away at high speed. It is a good example of what to expect from the album, including pretty much every element in the "Symphonic Metal rule book" to create an excellent begginning. If you can get past the somewhat cheesy (too happy sounding in relation to the concept) opening keyboard melody then this album is for you, I guarantee it.
Lust for life is one of my favorites. The chorus is huge and extremely catchy. This is one of these songs I have to listen to at least once each day at the moment, just to jump around with the chorus... A very cool middle passage ties the song nicely together and this is one place where Ben Sotto uses what I have to call his "Kai Hansen voice" to great effect.
Victory starts out like a ballad with some impressive singing from Ben (This is one place where I first get an Andre Matos and then a Tobias Sammet feel). But it soon accelerates into a high speed metallic whirlwind. The change that happens around the 3 minute mark leads to a really excellent passage that adds a lot to the song. The ultra melodic
Illusion is also very good in a strange deja-vu sort of way.
Keepers of the faith is a strong competitor for the best song of the record. It keeps up its powerful fast pace all the way through the song and the chorus is something that would have made
Stratovarius proud. The guitar and drums work together in great union to make this song extremely powerful through the verses.
Miracle is actually a song from the first
Heavenly demo from 1998. I have not heard that version, but here it has been spiced up and re-recorded. It is the weakest song on the record as it feels like something is missing compared to the rest of the songs. It feels a little disjointed and is not as memorable as the other songs.
Kingdom come is the strongest track on the album. With a strong Rhapsody feel (think Flames of revenge) this one creates some of the same kind of magic, over the top narration is of course included too. A great atmosphere is set right from the start and many elements give the song an epic feel. Ben Sotto also gives a quite fantastic vocal performance hitting some extremely high notes.
The album ends with the soothing half-ballad
...Dust to dust, and thus 71 minutes slip past faster than you would think. Because the songs are very compact and contain so much variation the album is not too long and certainly gives full value for money. I find it hard to say someting specific negative about any of these songs as each of them contain something great. It is overall that I would have liked some more innovation and some more surprises.
There were numerous times through the album when I thought "Hey, this reminds me of
Gamma Ray /
Edguy /
Stratovarius / Rhapsody /
Angra / Helloween". It didn't bother me too much. What is important here is that
Heavenly deliver high quality Power Metal that is certainly influenced by their peers, but in no way ripped of. Dust to dust is an album that gets better with each listen. Some songs jump straight into your head the first time you listen to them while others take more time to develop. Equal for them all are the great melodies, catchy choruses, many breaks which gives a nice variety.
Dust to dust is performed with skill and feeling and is sure to please every Power Metal fan out there. Clearly a step in the right direction for
Heavenly.
Favorite tracks: Lust for life, Kingdom come, Keepers of the faith, Evil
Written by
Steen Sunday, January 4, 2004
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