Harmony - Theatre Of Redemption review
Band: | Harmony |
Album: | Theatre Of Redemption |
Release date: | November 2014 |
01. The Window Of My Soul
02. Inhale
03. Crown Me King
04. Son Of The Morning
05. What If
06. Theatre Of Redemption
07. Bloodbound
08. You Are
09. Hands Of Time
10. In Search Of
Swedish power metallers Harmony invited guest vocalist Daniel Heiman, formerly of such power metal bands as Lost Horizon, Heed, and Crystal Eyes, to bring his formidable talents to Theatre Of Redemption. It's been several years since this voice graced a metal album and his return is no doubt cause for celebration. Such great power metal music can easily be turned to dust by the wrong voice, or conversely, polished to a mirror shine with the right one.
Despite a somewhat fantasy-related theme, Harmony keeps the vibe very serious. Harmonies on a few tracks bring to mind mid-period Kamelot albums: darkly beautiful yet still very power metal. The key ingredient here is the chosen tempos: ballads never drag, instead they move along with a non-cheesy clip, while the up-tempo songs take us for a wild ride without feeling like the musicians are just proving how fast they can play. The astute performances are serving the well-composed music.
We're treated to a great start of several solid as hell and catchy as hell power metal tunes. Then we have the beautiful "Son Of The Morning," which changes up the mood: a south Asian influence and slower tempo makes this song especially mesmerizing. The problem is it's followed by the album's only real liability: the teen-angsty "What If." Bad lyrics and a comically repetitive keyboard hold this song in sharp contrast to the kick-ass music that preceded it. It's quite bad, but thankfully the only bad song. Just take this song off your iPod. Now, back to the excellent power metal!
The evocative title track opens the second half of the album, which features more dark hard-hitting tracks such as "Bloodbound" and a rather cheerful closer which does its job in making you want to spin the record again. Thanks to another great mix by Henrik Udd and Fredrik Nordström at Studio Fredman, the entire album is presented with ease in a highly professional aural packaging.
Any fan of power metal should prioritize this album before year-end. It'll certainly hold a special place on your Best Power Metal of 2014 list. Theatre of Redemption releases November 28th [Europe] and December 2nd [North America] via Ulterium Records.
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Written on 17.11.2014 by
Susan appreciates quality metal regardless of sub-genre. Metal Storm Staff since 2006. Twitter: @HeavyMetalSusan |
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