Kiske/Somerville - City of Heroes

Artist: Kiske/Somerville
Album: City of Heroes
Release date: April 17, 2015
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: Pop music with guitars and your mom's favourite metal duo








WHAT THIS IS ABOUT
Second album as a duo for Michael Kiske and Amanda Somerville. If you don't know who Kiske is, count yourself lucky: today is the day you get to listen to Helloween's Keeper of the Seven Keys. He is the quintessential power metal singer, and still has that kind of aura, despite the thousands of copycats who tried to out-Kiske him. You know Amanda Somerville by proxy, considering she is a renowned vocal coach for a lot of metal chicks. She was also heavily featured in metal operas such as Avantasia and AinA and has a good solo career. This is your usual Frontiers Records team-up, like Allen/Lande, with songs written mostly by Magnus Karlsson and Mat Sinner (core members of Primal Fear).

WHAT IT DOES RIGHT
It's firmly rooted in the realm of easy-listening rock. Like, yeah, nominally it's power metal but it's softer than what you hear on mainstream radio. For the most part, this works very well, considering the duo can boast crystal clear voices capable of sudden explosions of melody. Walk on Water is one of the best songs in the genre, period - that's how it's done, and you can't teach it, because you need a great melody, an adequate sound and two great vocalists. This is the heart of the project. I enjoyed the drumming by Veronika Lukešová - it's never surprising, but it adds an interesting dimension to the songs. It's also the only thing (together with guitar solos and vocals) that producer Jacob Hansen felt like we should be able to hear through the whole album.

WHAT IT DOES WRONG
OhGodthelyrics. God. They're the biggest turn-off. They're not silly in a fun way (you know, like Helloween), they're not so-bad-that-they're-good material (like Rhapsody of Fire), they're just cringeworthy. I actually felt bad for Kiske and Somerville. Amanda, by the way, sounds generic. That's her thing, she is the standard for the genre - which is a great achievement - but she hasn't pushed her voice to develop a unique sound. Chances are, you're tired of the overall sound: cheesy power metal has been done, re-done, killed, resuscitated, overdone again and is now barely surviving. Even if you aren't, you can give your attention to a band who's actually trying to make good songs all the time and maybe infuses a little more energy.

VERDICT
Forgettable. There's a couple of good songs in there (Walk on Water, Open Your Eyes, Run with a Dream) but the problem with melodic albums is that the melodies have to be brilliant. It's why pop music is successful. Here, you can't find many tunes that stick with you after you turn the speakers off. Considering everything else (guitars, keyboards, bass - I've been told there's a bass player, I could hear a faint echo of a bass at times) is just there so the vocals have a background to lean on, there is very little in this album that deserves your attention. That being said, I really love Walk on Water. At least I got something out of this album.

Sinners Moon - Atlantis

Artist: Sinners Moon
Album: Atlantis
Release date: April 10, 2015
Label: Inverse Records
Genre: Symphonic Power










WHAT THIS IS ABOUT
Best idea ever: what if we took a girl with a soprano voice and paired her with a nasty growler? Oh, it's been done already. A lot. Sinners Moon don't care, and they do it anyway. Considering this is their first record, I'd say let's cut them some slack. Through most of the songs there is very little growling anyway, so it does not reek of archeology. They're published by Inverse Records, which I think is the largest label specialized in bands I've never even heard of. My bad.

WHAT IT DOES RIGHT
These six Slovenians are heavily focused on melodies, which is always a good thing - it keeps the album enjoyable. They can clearly write good songs, such as Memento Mori, a good example of simple things well done. There is a good balance between the keyboards and the heavier sounds, so that it doesn't sound flat but the melodies are allowed to shine. Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica delivers a good performance (in an otherwise forgettable song)

WHAT IT DOES WRONG
First of all, there's the chance you might be tired of the formula. Personally, I think that as long as the melodies are good, there is nothing to complain about, but to each his own. Granted, Sinners Moon are often treading some dangerous middle ground, with some good Edenbridge moments (Falls of the Neverland) and other songs with less clear intentions. They aren't crafty enough yet to make their longer songs particulary good - there are interesting ideas here and there, but there's no sense of frugality.

VERDICT
Well done. It's a genre that has been going downhill for some time, so it's harder to shine. Sinners Moon don't try to reinvent the wheel, but they don't steal someone else's project either. Atlantis puts them on the map as a promising band with a good ear for melodies - they will, of course, have to find their own way in a more decisive manner next time, but so far so good.

Lancer - Second Storm

Artist: Lancer
Album: Second Storm
Release date: April 10, 2015
Label: Despotz Record
Genre: Power metal









WHAT THIS IS ABOUT
Power metal from Sweden. They like Dungeons and Dragons, but not that much, so it's kind of a middle ground between the just-a-spoonful-of-sugar europower and the more aggressive sound of German speed metal. Which means that they're Gamma Ray, yes, but I like my glass half full. This is their second album, and they're on the same label as Crucified Barbara - big fan of them.

WHAT IT DOES RIGHT
Well, the songs aren't bad. They could with little effort win a contest for Helloween clones - listen to Behind the Walls and tell me you didn't check the writing credits. The fact that some of these songs sound like, well, 80s classics is quite impressive. More often than not you listen to cheap knockoffs, while Lancer are a competently crafted imitation.

WHAT IT DOES WRONG
There is not an ounce of originality in this album. Not a single idea in these nine songs hasn't been beaten to death in the past thirty years. At this point it's like archeology, Lancer sound like a band who sounds like a band who sounds like a band who sounds like a band who was inspired by Iron Maiden and Judas Priest and had a singer capable of hitting very high notes.

VERDICT
I will never understand this kind of product. What's your target? People who really like a specific album and want to listen to another, identical album from a different band? That being said, Lancer are a very convincing replica. Teenager me would have liked them much more, because I was a dumb teenager who was into metal for the melodies and the high notes. These guys sound like they're actually good at what they do, which is a shame. I really, really, really hope they can find their own niche.