Dreamtale - Beyond Reality (2002)

Finnish band Dreamtale have brought out a debut here that has plenty going for it, but also a few drawbacks, including inconsistent writing, a modest singer in Rami Keränen and overlength.  Some records can justify over an hour of listening time, some can't, and this one doesn't.
At its best, like with "Dreamland', which is helped by female vocals, it's a top listen, but then there's such tedious stuff as the eight-minute "Heart's Desire". And, oddly, the final two songs have the feminine vocals leading the way, to the point where it starts to sound like a different band has taken over.
As I said, there are positives to Beyond Reality, but also negatives, and the result is a rather frustrating listening experience.

***

Iron Savior - Condition Red (2002)

Oh wow.  I've always liked Iron Savior without really liking them, but this album, the band's fourth, blows all their earlier ones out of the water.
Starting and finishing with two absolute crackers in "Titans Of Our Time" and the Star Trek-inspired "Thunderbird", this has these Germans (or, more accurately, leader Piet Sielk) finding melody to a standard they never have before, but without forsaking their speed and fury. Indeed, this is an exhilarating listen, an almost breathtaking thrill ride through their continuing story of the giant Iron Savior and... well, I'm not sure how the story goes since, not for the first time with some of these CDs, it's not easy to read the liner notes and find out what is happening!
But the music can hardly be faulted. With other highlights including "Walls Of Fire" and "Tales Of The Bold", Condition Red is a terrific album, and one of the best power metal releases of 2002.

****1/2

Power Quest - Wings Of Forever (2002)

If someone was to ever ask, "what is a typical power metal album?" you could quite easily produce this debut by British band, Power Quest.  Although filled more with postive-about-yourself lyrics than something like fantasy (although power metal is all for postive stuff in general anyway), it has the (pretty) speedy music, the (reasonably) flying choruses and (plentiful) guitar riffs and flying keyboards, from main songwriter Steve Williams, who had recently left the soon-to-be DragonForce.
And the vocalist, Alessio Garavello (there's a British name for you) has a decent set of pipes.
With highlights including "Far Away" and "Beyond The Stars", Wings Of Forever mightn't be the best power metal has to offer, but it does tick most of the boxes, and does a good job with what's on offer.

***1/2

Arachnes - Apocalypse (2002)

Mmmm... don't really have a lot to say about this album.  Arachnes hasn't blown me away so far, and this is a bit of a tedious effort, vocalist Enzo Caruso's keyboard work being the main thing of note for me, especially that great sounding church organ on "Decisive Battle (Reprise)", but when a reprise becomes a highlight, that doesn't say much for the rest.

**

Axenstar - Perpetual Twilight (2002)

At first, Swedish band Axenstar, led by brothers Magnus (singer and keyboardist) and Thomas (guitarist and principal songwriter) Eriksson sounds like a pretty typical power metal act, with the usual speed and furious guitar work (although the lyrics are more immersed in religious immagery than normal), but what gives them a distinctive sound is the over dubbing or Magnus' vocals, particularly in the choruses. Every song has him, for want of a better way of putting it, harmonising with himself, and this helps them, which are already quite melodious, rise above the reasonable to the quite lovely at times.  There is a temptation to critisise this debut for lacking much variety, and it is a bit hard to single out specific songs, but that could also be because there are no real weaknesses - every one grabs in its own way, although I will point to "All I Could Ever Be", "New Revelations" and "Perpetual Twilight" for special mention.
One other negative is that it would have been nice if Magnus' voice(s) was a bit louder in the mix.  But it's not too bad, and the overall result here is a very appealling, enjoyable listen from a band who has found their own sound.

***1/2

Majesty - Sword & Sorcery (2002)

After Manowar come these Germans from the same stable, Majesty.  This is their second album, and continues their Manowar adoration with lyrics, music and even album cover. The first song, "Sword And Sorcery", is quite good, but if you listen to it, you've pretty much listened to the rest, since nearly all the songs follow the same structure, with chanted choruses that repeat the title over and over.
Of course, I do tend to get dragged in by that kind of thing, so I do like it, but even I know when one thing is being done to death. And when they do try something different, like with the ballad "Aria Of Bravery", the results are dull.
The two songs I've named are based on a fantasy novel that main man/songwriter Tarek Maghary was soon to be getting published. I don't know if that ever happened, but I don't think it's hard to guess how by-the-numbers it would be.
But it would also probably be quite entertaining in its predictable way, just like this album.

***

Manowar - Warriors Of The World (2002)

Manowar. That heavy metal band that isn't really power, but I keep them on this blog anyway. This is their first album in six years, and it is quite bizarre, but oh so entertaining.
On the one hand, we have seemingly endless songs of war, battles, fighting and whatnot.  Some come at the beginning.  Then, out of nowhere, we have an adaption of  "Nessun Dorma", that song that television channels show Pavarotti singing whenever he's touring, making it sound like he never sung anything else.  And Eric Adams does a really good job of it!  It's not metalised to any great degree - it is symphonic, slow and majestic.
Not surprisingly, many metal fans despise it. As soon as I first heard this come on, I laughed and thought "oh, no wonder people give this band so much crap now." But I'm just a sucker for such things.
Then, a bit later, we have "An American Trilogy", a collection of American-as-apple-pie songs that Elvis used to perform. Once we come through all this, we get back to battles and all that, as well as a characteristic proclaimation of themselves ("Warriors Of The World United") and Satan stating his desire to fight against the forces of good ("House Of Death"). The word "die" is snarled so often in the latter part of the record, one might be in danger of just dropping dead on the spot.
I have never been a big Manowar fan, but I can go along with the fun if it's done well, and I think this is.  Warriors Of The World  is dumb, stupid and sometimes, in its overly-serious way, quite hysterical.
But it's also irresistible.

***1/2

Thunderstone - Thunderstone (2002)

This debut by Finnish band Thunderstone starts with a fine, typical power metal piece in "Let The Demons Free", but what follows is a variety of quick, steady and slow songs that broaden the horizon of the genre.  The result is a listen that's quite good, without being anything spectacular, containing a strong and appealling keyboard sound, and personal and reflective lyrics.
It does sometimes veer a bit too much towards something approaching alternative at times (I think so, anyway), but it's a reasonable enough release all the same.

***

Firewind - Between Heaven And Hell (2002)

Merry Christmas!
I've been caught up in all things festive over the last few days (alright, some things festive), but now it's time to continue my journey through power metal in 2002.
Greek band Firewind (well, they were formed in the USA, but now seem to be based in Greece) play something of a more 'traditional', Iron Maiden-style of metal, albeit with the speed of power metal, and this is a decent debut. Strong playing and singing lift some reasonable songs into the impressive, highlights including "I Will Fight Alone" and a cover of Scorpions' "Pictured Life", resulting in a very worthy listen.

***1/2

Manigance - Ange ou démon (2002)

Manigance is a French band who sings completely in their own native language, something that always appeals to me, even if I can't understand what the words are about. This debut is well enough done from a technical viewpoint, but not terribly memorable.  Only "Intégrité" and the concluding "Messager" really stand out for me.

**1/2

Requiem - The Arrival (2002)

Requiem was a fairly short-lived Finnish band which did pretty standard power metal, on this debut anyway. The mix on it is not great, as vocalist Jouni Nikula struggles to be heard amongst the (quite proficient) instrumentation at times, but he's not terribly good anyway, sounding rather like a very weak and wobbly opera singer.  Some of the material is reasonable, like "Revival" and "The Invisible Touch" but, overall, The Arrival is pretty ordinary.

**1/2

Nightwish - Century Child (2002)

For some reason, I find Nightwish albums hard to rate. I like them, but am never sure how much.
This, their fourth, is the first with bassist Marco Hietala, who also provides some... er... vocals, which are a matter of taste, I think.  They certainly can't compare with Tarja's voice (although comparing male singing with female is a bit unwise anyway), but having said that, she's less dynamically operatic this time around, as the record itself has a more symphonic, ethereal, slightly slower style.
It's certainly good though, from the "Wishmaster"-like "End Of All Hope" to the three-part conclusion, the haunting "Beauty Of The Beast", while there's also a version of Andrew Lloyd Weber's "The Phantom Of The Opera", where Turunen and Hietala share vocals, and it's not too bad although, ironically, the former doesn't seem to have the range for it.
As usual with Nightwish, I'm not really sure what I think about this one. There are weak moments, like the forgettable "Ocean Soul", but it remains undeniably impressive, and the band has a power and dignity that pulls the listener in.

****

Morifade - Imaginarium (2002)

I really liked Morifade's debut, POSSESSION OF POWER, which was released three years previously, but the only song I can reall remember is the beautiful "A Northern Rhyme".  There's nothing like that here on their follow-up, but it's still a good power metal release, starting with the excellent anti-drug song "Lost Within A Shade", while the "Gladiator"-inspired "In Martyria" (although it does sound a bit flowery for its subject matter) and the concluding "Whispering Voices" are also good, while Stefan Petersson's vocals are impressive.
I have a feeling I should like this more than I do, but maybe my mind wasn't totally on it just now. You know... life goes on, and other things enter one's thoughts. But there's no doubting I do find an appeal in Morifade, and look forward to hearing more from them.

***

Primal Fear - Black Sun (2002)

Primal Fear's fourth album is pretty much by-the-numbers metal, being solid without containg much that's ear-catching.  The best song is "Fear", while "Into The Fire" is pretty good, but most of the songs are pretty interchangeable.
And I won't mention a certain, long-running British band they keep sounding like.

***

Blind Guardian - A Night At The Opera (2002)

The title A Night At The Opera has been good to me.  It is the name of a great Marx Brothers film (which is one of my favourite movies of all time), and also a great Queen album (which is one of the best of the seventies), so now Blind Guardian adopts the name, with their first release in four years.
They go for a more progessive style here as they focus on such topics as Jesus' tempation in the desert ("Precious Jerusalem") , Galileo Galilei ("Age Of False Innocence"), Jesus Christ again, this time His crucifixion ("Sadly Sings Destiny") and the Dragon Lance books ("Soulforged").
In truth, this can't match the band's best work; it's a wild and restless listen, with all sorts of overdubs and instrumentation thrown in, but there's still much to like, and more listens can only be of benefit.
When I was reviewing Blind Guardian's earlier albums, I eventually came to the conclusion that they were my favourite power metal band at the time. Since then, I've fallen in love with the likes of Rhapsody and Freedom Call, so they've "taken the crown" in my mind (small as the crown is) from Hansi and his German friends, but they do remain one of the best at what they do - I just prefer albums like SOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND and NIGHTFALL IN MIDDLE-EARTH.

****

Rebellion - Shakespeare's MacBeth: A Tragedy In Steel (2002)

Rebellion was formed by former Grave Digger members Uwe Lulis and Tomi Göttlich, guitarist and bassist respectively, and for their debut they decided to tackle Shakespeare's "MacBeth", giving us driving metal songs intertwined by various spoken passages, both narration and characters from the play.
This is pretty tough to get through, especially as over seventy minutes.  The music is powerful at times, although it doesn't leap out at the listener as anything instantly melodious, and how much you appreciate the subject matter depends on whether you are much into the Bard. I never have been a fan, personally - I can remember studying "MacBeth" at high school, although what about it I studied I can't quite recall. But I never was a very good student.
Anyway, this has good moments, and is a valiant attempt at something grand, but it is a bit of an overlong slog, so quite a bit of patience and devotion to the cause is required.

***

Highlord - Breath Of Eternity (2002)

Highlord's debut album HEIR OF POWER was terrible, while their second, WHEN THE AURORA FALLS... was excellent, so where does this third release fit?
Somewhere in the middle.
It's certainly better than HEIR, with such songs as "The Dreamer And The Deep Ocean" and, in particular, "Back From Hell", proving to be worthy, and Alessandro Muscio's atmospheric keyboards are effective throughout, but there's not as much material that grabs, making this a quite good, but slightly disappointing release.

***

Rhapsody - Power Of The Dragonflame (2002)

Wow. Freedom Call followed by Rhapsody. Can life in music get much better?
Power Of The Dragonflame is the final chapter in the Dragonflame Chronicles, and it is just as wonderful as SYMPHONY OF ENCHANTED LANDS and DAWN OF VICTORY.
It is, in a way, a bit different. There's more in the way of straight power metal songs here, particularly on the first half, but what songs they are.  I could name pretty much every one, as track after track brings us magnificent melodies sung by powerful choral vocals that vary enough to make sure things never get repetitive, but I'll name a few anyway - "Knightrider Of Doom", the title song and "The March Of The Swordmaster".
And then comes the climax, the twenty-minute, three-part "Gargoyles, Angels Of Darkness", where the final battle takes place, before our hero (whatsisname - can't remember what he's called now) claims victory.  Again, this is a mighty, epic piece that Turilli and Staropoli just seem to have no problems producing.
Whether you really get into the story or not (and I find it a bit hard to do, as the booklet's notes and lyrics aren't always easy to read), this is for anyone who loves fast metal, melodies, choirs and just that breathtaking epicness that this band revels in.
Superb.

*****

Freedom Call - Eternity (2002)

In all the music listening and rating I have done over the years, I think I'm right in saying on only one occasion have I rated all the first three albums of a band five stars. No, it's not my initial eighties passion, Duran Duran. No, it's not my more recent passion, Rhapsody. I don't think it's even the Beatles +, although they come close. No, rather bizarrely, it's the Ramones.  I say 'bizarre' because it could not be said I'm much of a punk fan. I suppose I just had the opinion that what those boys were doing, they were doing perfectly.
So now comes the next band to make that list - Freedom Call.  For the third time, these Germans have grabbed me and spirited me away with their wonderfully melodious brand of power metal.
There can be a danger of doing the same thing over and over, that you will start sounding a bit tired.  On the other hand, if you try to be too different, you could stuff up and disappoint a lot of fans in the process.
Eternity differs from Freeom Call's first two albums (I think I'm right in saying) in that it's not as consistently fast, and there's also a bit more prominance of keyboards, which open a few of the songs. But what the band just cannot change is their knack of uplifting, anthemic choruses that just never let up.  Even the concluding ballad "Turn Back Time", while not their best song, is fine, and how many  metal ballads can you say that about?  Earlier on, such songs as the opening "Metal Invasion", "Warriors" and "Flame In The Night" are so uplifting that it's hard to work out how to get back down from the heights they lift the listener.
Yep, it's happy metal. Yes, it'll make some "real" metal fans sick.
But for power metal lovers, you just can't say your collection is complete without Freedom Call's catalogue.
So go and complete it!
Now!

*****

+ Disclaimer - I'm not saying Freedom Call is a better band than The Beatles. I'm not saying anyone is better than The Beatles.  The Fab Four will always remain legends. I'm just saying individual ratings can vary a surprising amount throughout the years. At least, mine can.

Falconer - Chapters From A Vale Forlorn (2002)

While Falconer's self-titled debut had touches of folk metal, this follow-up is drenched in it, as the title might suggest, as well as such song names as "Enter The Glade", "Lament Of A Minstrel" and "We Sold Our Homesteads".  What is the same is the beautiful voice of Mathias Blad, and more tuneful, catching songs, highlights including "The Clarion Call" and "Stand In Veneration".
This Swedish trio (trios are unusual in power metal, I've noticed) might not be the greatest at what they do, but they certainly are very good, dignified and worth listening to.
Sadly, Blad left the band for a while after this, as he had an acting career to focus on (that's what I've read, anyway), so here's hoping his replacement can live up to the standards he has set.

***1/2

Dark Moor - The Gates Of Oblivion (2002)

Dark Moor's third album is their best to date, partly because it's more consistent than their first two, but also because Elisa Martin's vocals have improved. Maybe not to any great status (she's certainly no Enya), but definitely better.
And, as the band has shown right from the start, they know how to write lovely melodies. This record has plenty of them, highlights including "A New World" and especially "By The Strange Path Of Destiny", while the conclusion is an adaption (mixed into an original song) of Mozart's "Requiem Dies Irae". As always, such classical crossovers win me over, even though Martin's voice can't quite cut it this time. She is helped, however, by the male back up.
With nearly every song fast, one might complain a bit about a lack of variety here, but with its graceful melodies and skilful playing, The Gates Of Oblivion is an album power metal fans should have in their collection, and Dark Moor have certainly become one of my favourite bands of the genre.

****

Sacred Steel - Slaughter Prophecy (2002)

Sacred Steel's fourth album is their heaviest and most 'evil' to date, to the point where the first 'proper' song has death metal vocals.  Squawking singer Gerrit Mutz soon enters the fray, however, and things become somewhat more familiar.  The lyrics focus, at least in part, on witch burnings, like with "Slaughter Prophechy (Vengeance For The Dead)" (that's the death metal one) and "Let The Witches Burn", while we have other titles like "The Rites Of Sacrifice", "Faces Of The Antichrist" and the suicidal "Lay Me To My Grave", which really threaten to go over my moral threshold, even though I know their not really praising evil, supporting this view being such things as drummer Matthias Straub's list of thank yous, which has him finishing with "Metal means tolerance, not violence and stupidity!"
I don't really know why I stick with Sacred Steel, but I have their stuff, so I might as well keep going, and see whether, at the very least, Mutz learns to sing normally.

**1/2

Metalium - Hero Nation: Chapter Three (2002)

Metalium's third album has them focusing on different historical figures from different parts of the world (mostly Europe), so we have the likes of Nero ("In The Name Of Blood"), Rasputin ("Rasputin") and Joan of Arc ("Accused To Be A Witch") getting their own songs, although I don't know how the band's hero Metalium fits into it all. And, inevitably, there's a 'thank you' to the band's fans with the concluding, title track, something heavy metal groups just love to do.
Yes, I know OMD did one too, but still...
Musically, I found this one a bit tough to get through, although I ended up thinking it's quite good.  Such songs as "In The Name Of Blood" and "Fate Conquered The Power" (the latter about the Inca tribe) are good, but "Odin's Spell" is laborious - it never seems to end.
I don't expect Metalium will ever be my favourite band (or even close), and this is not their best release, but there's some stuff here that might be worthwhile for metal fans.

***

Wuthering Heights - To Travel For Evermore (2002)

Alight, time to start 2002.  And we commence with borderline power metal Wuthering Heights.
I wasn't overly excited by these Danes' debut WITHIN, but I've got more out of this follow-up.  Like any album that has a heavy dose of progressive, it took a while to grow on me, but such songs as "The Nevershining Stones" and "See Tomorrow Shine" are good, while "Battle Of The Seasons" does something unusual - not only is it an instrumental (I don't tend to get overjoyed by heavy metal instrumentals), but it's almost nine minutes long, and yet it's pretty good!
Wuthering Heights' following album, FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD, is acclaimed as a true classic.  I'm not sure if I'm going to fall in love with it like a lot of others have, but I'll certainly give it a damn good try, since the band certainly does have quite a bit to offer.

***1/2