YNGWIE MALMSTEEN Parabellum | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by Mascot Label Group on July 23rd, 2021

Quick Background

Legendary Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen needs no introduction. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 21 studio albums in a career spanning over 40 years. Malmsteen is often cited among the greatest electric guitar players of all time. Additionally, he made a significant impact on many future power metal guitarists. From the first album, his band was always a very fast revolving door. Singers never lasted more than two albums in a row. And he had some amazing ones. The early albums are just great. But Malmsteen is one, if not the, biggest ego in metal. Since the two albums with Doogie White, he moved more and more to instrumental tracks and albums. He still had Ripper Owens singing some songs in two albums. But since then there have been compilations, either instrumental albums, or with himself only singing. In his last album, Blue Lightning (2019) he paid homage to those from the blues world who have fueled his artistic spirit. I honestly wasn't interested or looking forward to this album but decided to give it a try.

Parabellum

Parabellum features 10 tracks, 6 being instrumentals and 4 sang by Malmsteen. The album title is Latin, translating as "Prepare For War". There's a track "(Si Vis Pacem) Parabellum" which translates as 'If you want peace, then prepare for war.' There is no information if any other musician was involved, so the conclusion is that it's a 100% written, recorded and produced album by Malmsteen alone. 

The good news is that his singing abilities have improved remarkably and he actually does a good job. Of course he wrote the songs in a way that the singing is not very challenging but it does work very well. As a comparison it resembles the albums with Doug White the most, but with the writing style from the first records. The highlights are the opening track "Wolves At The Door" and track 3 "Relentless Fury".

 

As for the instrumentals. "Presto Vivace in C# minor" is absolutely my favorite track on the album. It's one of the coolest instrumental tracks I heard from him in a long time. It's much in line with "Far Beyond the Sun". With just about 3 minutes each "Toccata" and "Magic Bullet" are short and fun instrumental tracks as well. "God Particle" is another highlight as it changes things a bit with the slower start, mid-tempo, acoustic classical guitar and a baroque/churchy vibe that ties very well with the song title. The background keyboards stand out giving the song character. 

The Picky Guy

I swear when I first glanced at the track list I thought track 7 was named "Good Practice" but it is actually "God Particle". But I think my made up title exemplify the album better than any other title. At this point he doesn't have to prove his guitar skills to anyone but still the album is as you may expect an avalanche of notes at incredible high speed. It works well at times, but of course it gets tiring. So by the time we get to the 8 min instrumental closer "Sea Of Tranquility" my attention is gone. Also the penultimate track "(Fight) The Good Fight" which has vocals, is not different from the two aforementioned sang tracks, so it's expendable. Then the mandatory ballad "Eternal Bliss" which is not that bad but it is also not adding value.

Wrap Up Opinion 

Look there's nothing new here. We all know he can play really fast and write catchy melodies. Parabellum  is in many ways a call back to the first album but through a modern lens of albums like Attack! I miss the keyboard dynamic of early records though. If you are a guitar player or a big old fan, this will be fun. But otherwise it is more and a lot more of the same. On the bright side, it's with quality. For those reasons and from my perspective as a guitar player, I give it 80/100 still a good album with a couple of nice songs with vocals and a handful fun guitar tracks. 

SCORE: 80/100

Genre: Neo Classical / Power Metal

Released by Mascot Label Group on July 23rd, 2021

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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The best metal albums of 2021 so far

Ad Nauseam - Imperative Imperceptible Impulse

Ad Nauseam will certainly pop up in many year-end lists, not only due to the quality of the album, but for standing out as a very innovative experimental and unconventional band. Is it for everyone? Certainly not, it's not even for a big segment of the metal community, but it will captivate the metal listeners with an open mind and looking for something challenging and distinctive. Very good album with the potential to grow further on me as it is that kind of album that takes time. 

Artillery - X

Artillery delivered their tenth record as if it was a debut: Ruthlessly heavy, catchy and pure metal. The fusion of 80's thrash with traditional heavy metal is perfectly executed creating some headbanger tunes to sing along with our fists in the air. A very good thrash metal album that will please new and old fans looking for that perfect mix of melody and aggression. 

Asphyx - Necroceros

Recorded during lockdown, the band’s tenth studio album Necroceros is heavy and vicious! No room for fillers, just 10 heavy tracks in 50 minutes. It also sounds great, clear and bombastic. There's just something so captivating about this album from the first to last track. Is it a revolutionary album? No, but it's very well written, executed and produced. This was best album of January 2021 and probably will stay at the top of 2021 list. 

Bloodbound - Creatures of the Dark Realm

Bloodbound is back into form with a non apologetic blistering power metal album as it should be. Despite a couple of fillers and the lack of originality, the album delivers what we expect from a sing-along power metal. That means: bombastic choruses, enough aggression and a huge amount of melody and hooks. That can only be successful due to the good song writing and execution of almost all songs on Creatures of the Dark Realm. Power Metal fans can go for it with no doubts.

Gojira - Fortitude

Gojira knocked this one out of the park. A great album which will certainly head many year-end lists in 2021. They were able to masterfully combine old style Gojira with experimentation and ambience. As a result the album is diverse and super interesting. On top of it, it all comes down to great song writing. There are no bad songs and, even better, a handful of great ones. Yes, some of them are different and not as heavy, but it works. A 21st century masterpiece. I don't use this word often, but Fortitude is already top of the decade contender for me.

Helloween - Helloween

Despite the return of Hansen and Kiske, the album doesn't sound much different than previous records from the Deris era. It is not a bad thing but a missed opportunity. With that said the album is very good and shines at most moments. "Skyfall" is an instant classic and many songs call back subtly to other phases of the band. All and all, the self titled 2021 album has a little something for any Helloween fan, old or new, and the execution is outstanding. Highly recommended for any power metal enthusiast. 

Orden Ogan - Final Days

Orden Ogan has been delighting us with solid power metal albums for a few years now. It's a modern and dark side of power metal. The songs feature fat and modern riffs, epic choruses and melancholic orchestral arrangements. Despite some lows on the second half, I'm still having lots of fun with it, again a very good album. I can't wait to see them playing those songs live.

Sacred Oath - Return Of The Dragon

Return Of The Dragon is a very good pure metal album without any frills and yet diversified with no creativity boundaries. While not super original, Sacred Oath creates an interesting mix of styles that captures the attention and it's lots of fun. If you just want some good old traditional metal with touch of modern metal, then Return Of The Dragon is the way to go.

Soen - IMPERIAL

Soen sure isn't an instantaneously accessible music but with a bit of listener patience, album after album they proved to be one of the most prolific creators of rewarding pieces of progressive music today. Quiet honestly, I prefer any Soen albums over any Opeth album after Watershed. Ok, I said it, I know the critics fan-boys will shot me for this, but it's true, it's how I feel. You can't argue with personal preferences!  

Therion - Leviathan

Therion revisits their roots with Leviathan. A straightforward Therion album full of potential new fan favorites. While not bringing new ideas, it's a powerful, bombastic collection of songs with a good level of variability and dynamism. Several guest singers, tempo changes, lyrics in different languages, all those choices make the album very interesting and each song has its own character. A very good album for long time fans. For those who never got into this band, Leviathan won't change your mind. 

Todd La Torre - Rejoice In The Suffering

Rejoice in the Suffering is the debut solo album by Queensrÿche vocalist Todd La Torre. The first four songs on the album are just great. A punch in the face! It's a pure metal overdose. Todd showcases all his vocal abilities. The album also displays a southern metal sound reminding us of Pantera or Black Label Society. Overall, very good album that left me with wish for more. I'll be waiting for the sophomore release

Tribulation - Where the Gloom Becomes Sound

Tribulation makes Black Metal without blast beats and highly influenced by gothic rock in a way that's quite unique and satisfying. Jonathan Hultén did the bulk of the songwriting on this album, and surprisingly in December the guitarist left the band he started after 16 years. That leaves us with a big question mark where the band is going. Maybe this will force Tribulation  to evolve their sound and incorporate other influences. For now, if you enjoyed their last two albums,  Where the Gloom Becomes Sound is just a big pleasure to listen to.  

Witherfall - Curse Of Autumn

Witherfall's Curse Of Autumn is one of my favorite albums of 2021 so far. Witherfall executes excellent modern progressive power metal. It's dark and heavy and yet melodic and catchy. Can't go wrong with it. A very good album that should end the year high on my list.

TIMES OF GRACE Songs of Loss and Separation | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by Wicked Good Records on July 16th, 2021

Quick Background

Longtime friends and collaborators Adam Dutkiewicz and Jesse Leach released Times of Grace debut, The Hymn of a Broken Man, in 2011, nearly a decade after they worked together on Killswitch Engage's benchmark genre defining album, 2002's Alive Or Just Breathing. Leach left Killswitch Engage, the pivotal band the duo co-founded in 1999, shortly after Alive Or Just Breathing release but rejoined the group in early 2012 following the departure of his replacement, Howard Jones. So to me it came as a surprise that they would work again on Times of Grace.

Songs of Loss and Separation

Surprisingly or not, the band released its long-awaited sophomore album, Songs Of Loss And Separation. Let's get this out of the way. The music is melancholic and it doesn't sound like Killswitch. Songs of Loss and Separation mixes heaviness, mid-tempo rock, guitar riffs, and atmospheric sounds. It's a dark pessimistic album, but very emotional and honest. The comparisons stop here, let's focus on Times of Grace. This album features 10 tracks and clocks in at 49 minutes. 

From a few rare moments in Killswitch we know that Adam can sing. The good news is that in this album he is the lead vocals on several songs, additionally he once again handled all of the instrumentation and production. Jesse on the other hand experimented with a lower vocal range. Drummer Dan Gluszak, who toured behind the first album and is now an official member of the band does a good job behind the kit.

Times of Grace doesn't sound like any other band but it reminds me of Alice in Chains, Stone Sour or even Pearl Jam. The opening track, "The Burden of Belief" is a testament to that. "Mend You" with its doomy traditional metal build up is a progressive song in just over 4 minutes. I agree with Nik Nocturnal that this could easily be a radio friendly song, despite that, Jesse didn't hold back and still added some of the heaviest moments on the album with his screams at the end of it. The ending is also a perfect bridge to the heaviest song on the album "Rescue". I know I said I wouldn't compare but for the record this is the closest song to Killswitch we have here. And probably why it is my favorite. The riffs are heavy and Jesse screams throughout the track with clean vocals on the chorus which is their formula there. "Far From Heavenless" keeps the heaviness dialed all the way up. 

“Medusa” will please the sludge fans. I love the guitar work on this song. Those chugging riffs are crushing. Also shout out for the drumming, when the song goes into the atmospheric bridge with spoken words, the drums become the best part of the song. And the final touch is the song fading out in the best Meshugga style.

The Picky Guy

"Bleed Me", "Currents", "To Carry The Weight" and "Cold" are very post rock mid-tempo songs that did not appeal to me. Additionally, despite not being bad "Forever" closes the album without bringing anything new to me. In sum this means that the album is front loaded and I loose attention after "Medusa".

Wrap Up Opinion 

Times of Grace is back with an emotional and decent album. It is not Killswitch, so don't even go with those expectations. But there is a lot of value here, specially on the first half of the album. The music is melancholic and Songs of Loss and Separation mixes heaviness, mid-tempo rock, riffs, and atmospheric sounds. For me though, it needed a couple more moments of appeal to be considered a good album, it's close tough, so I am giving it 76/100. There's something here to enjoy so check it for yourself.

SCORE: 76/100

Genre: Alternative Metal

Released by Wicked Good Records on July 16th, 2021

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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HARDLINE Heart, Mind and Soul | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by Frontiers Records s.r.l. on July 9th, 2021

Quick Background

Hardline is an American hard rock band, well mostly Italian now. Originally formed in 1991 by brothers Johnny and Joey Gioeli. Johnny remains the only original member of the band and since 1998 also the singer on Axel Rudi Pell's band. In 2011, Gioeli confirmed that he and Italian keyboard player and producer Alessandro Del Vecchio of Edge of Forever and Eden's Curse would release Hardline's fourth studio album Danger Zone. Two more albums followed and now we are getting their 7th LP. After buying Axel Rudi Pell's Oceans of Time (1998), I remember going back and listening to Hardline debut because I wanted to check out Johnny's performance. It was worth it as he's a great singer, but that's the only Hardline album I own.  

Heart, Mind and Soul 

Two years after the album Life, Hardline is back with 50 minutes of progressive melodic hard rock in 11 tracks. To me Hardline shines with their hard rocking anthemic songs. Fortunately we get plenty of those on Heart, Mind and Soul such as "The Curse", the opener "Fuel to the Fire" which is an up-tempo rocker featuring an unusual into of vocal singing the guitar riff in a duo. "Waiting for Your Fall" has that energy of a concert opener. "Heartless" gives me the vibes of a 80's prog rock song, almost AOR, it's another favorite of mine. On that note, there's actually a song called "80's Moment". The single "Surrender" is one of the best songs on the album, great guitarwork and melodic vocal lines. Also great rocking energy.   

Talking about vocals, singer Johnny Gioeli, as usual, is in top form, providing a powerful and energetic vocal performance that is contagious. Take "Heavenly" for example. Great emotional performance from him. Despite being a mid-tempo song, it's quite progressive, the longest song on the album with almost 7 minutes. It's a keyboard based song but the guitar solos are prominent. Which brings us to the point of Mario Percudani’s guitar work. He was able to really deliver some cool hard rock riffs and engaging solos. The tight rhythm section of Anna Portalupi and Marco Di Salvia is locked in and delivers. All supported by Alessandro Del Vecchio's keyboards. 

The Picky Guy

My issue with the album is when the band goes too much into cheesy territory with mid-tempo songs and ballads. It's not that they are bad, but definitely not my thing. In that case even the lyrics start to bother me. "If I Could I Would" or "Like That", are examples of this problem. And the fact is that a third of the album suffers from this problem which has a implication on the overall score.

Wrap Up Opinion 

Hardline is capable of delivering some hard rock anthems that will stick to your brains and make you bang your head. About 2/3 of Heart, Mind and Soul will do just that. Moreover they accomplish that supported by great musicianship specially due to singer Johnny Gioeli and guitar player Mario Percudani. Now this is a bit personal but the album suffers from too many ballads leading me to, still consider a good album, but in the lower side of the scale with 79/100. With that said, if you enjoy melodic hard rock, you can't go wrong with Hardline. 

SCORE: 79/100

Genre: Hard Rock

Released by Frontiers Records s.r.l. on July 9th, 2021

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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AT THE GATES The Nightmare Of Being | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by Century Media Records on July 2nd, 2021

Quick Background

At the Gates, Swedish melodic Gothenburg-style death metal pioneers, were initially active from 1990 to 1996, reforming in 2007 for a tour between April and September 2008. In 2011, they reformed again and have since continued to perform. They released At War with Reality, their first album in 19 years, in late 2014. This album is one of the best come back metal albums in metal. It was also my top album of 2014. It is a slick and  "too well-produced". 'To Drink From the Night Itself' from 2018 was a response to that, it is dirty and gritty. It was also their first album written and recorded without lead guitarist/primary songwriter Anders Björler, who departed in 2017. He has since been replaced by Stålhammar.

The Nightmare Of Being

The Nightmare Of Being opens with a very proggy feel, "Spectre of Extinction" takes 1:30 to become a trademark At the Gates song in the veins of their comeback album At War With Reality. The Nightmare Of Being which features 10 songs in 45 minutes was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren, who has previously worked on the At War With Reality. And while at first listen without too much attention you may think it's pretty much the same as that album, upon more spinning sessions you realize the incorporation of progressive elements. But because they still sound a lot like themselves, it feels natural. Still I think the closest album to it is the come back album. 

The most obvious example of the proggy elements is "Garden of Cyrus" which features a slow build up and a saxophone, yes you heard me right, At The Gates going very Pink Floyd or King Crimson. The song also takes 3 minutes with instrumental and spoken words before Tomas Lindberg delivers his well-known vocals. For that reason it brings back that At The Gates sound. Another curved ball follows with "Touched by the White Hands of Death" and its one-minute long orchestral minute straight out a film score. But don't get fooled by the intro, the following 3 minutes are just pure At The Gates energy and sound. "The Fall into Time" the longest song on the album again relies on a long epic intro before turning into a mid tempo melo death song. But in this case the song also features a long proggy mid instrumental section that reminds me of modern prog bands such as Intronaut.  

Other songs are pure classic At The Gates, such as "The Paradox" and "Cult of Salvation". 

 

The Picky Guy

One song that worries me is "Cosmic Pessimism", it reminds me a lot of the period when In Flames was transitioning from melo death masters into alt rock wannabes. I certainly hope I am very wrong about this. 

Wrap Up Opinion 

While all the other songs are good and the album flows well, The Nightmare Of Being never really brought a wow factor in me. So I don't think I will be going back to this album often. But I do think any of those songs will fit well their set-list and among their best songs and classics it will sit very well. It makes hard to rate an album in those conditions, but still I am giving it 80/100, a good album. Most of the fans will find interesting and fun songs here. But I don't think it will really impress us. 

SCORE: 80/100

Genre: Death Metal

Released by Century Media Records on July 2nd, 2021

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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