Aquaria - Luxaeterna (2005)

Aquaria were a Brazillian band who has just brought out two albums thus far, this expansive, seventy minute effort being their debut. Being a mixture of power and progressive metal, it's not easy to get into, with many different segments amongst its selection of songs (no instantly catchy chorues or refrains here), even if the speed is fairly consistent, but its orchestration and grandiose presentations help make it undeniably impressive.
With references to Mother Earth, Mother Nature, Gaia and the like, it's awash in New Age, which is not really my thing, but the love and compassion found among it cannot be denied, and there are certain moments which are just beautiful.
Maybe Aquaria are a bit of a handful (or earful) at first, but if the ear is patient enough, there is much to be gained from this musical experience.

****

And so ends 2005. I think the year was consistently good, at times very good, without often reaching greatness, and it will soon be time to get going with 2006, and seeing what it has to offer.
Back soon. :-)

Dreamland - Future's Calling (2005)

Swedish band Dreamland (not to be confused with Dreamtale, let alone Dream Theater) play a mostly mid-tempo style of power metal, with moments of speed, and, despite their name, they don't dabble with fantasy, producing moe instrospective lyrics. 
The music is fairly straight forward for a while, and catchy with the likes of "Hearts Like Lions", while there's also a lovely ballad, "Fade Away", as well as a Stryper cover in "All For One", although Dreamland themselves don't seem to be Christian.
As the record goes along, the song structures start to vary a bit more, and it's all quite listenable overall, without being anything particularly remarkable.

***

Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys: The Legacy (2005)

Go waaayy back to where I started my blog, before Andi Deris was a part of the band, and you'll find the first two KEEPER OF THE SEVEN KEYS albums from Helloween, which pretty much set the power metal ball rolling, and which still appear at or near the top of many 'greatest' lists. And yet I didn't really love either of them - I'm really going to have to give them another try someday soon.
Anyway, Helloween has continued to soldier on, with plenty of top material being released, and come 2005, they brought out this double album which, supposedly, concludes the KEYS story, although I don't really know if there's much of a story here.
Just the thought of seventy-eight minutes of music is enough to make me groan, and The Legacy certainly drags at times, but there's also much to like. The fourteen-minute opener "The King For 1000 Years" sets the tone, being a mixture of power and progressive metal, and surely one of their best tracks.  What follows are songs of various lengths and tempos, but with plenty of singalong choruses and key changes amidst the complex instrumental passages, to make it a worthy listen.
"Occasion Avenue" is the eleven minute one that opens the second disc, and while it's not as good as "The King", it's still not bad, while "Light The Universe" (with Candace Night from Blackmore's Night) is a fine ballad, and the concluding "My Life For One More Day" shows Helloween still has what it takes after all these years.
I'm rating this higher than the first two KEYS albums, but that could change, though more likely with them going up than this going down, for it really has much to recommend it, through its occasional missteps.

****

Requiem - Requiem Forever (2005)

This is Requiem's third and final album (making the title rather ironic), and I admit I had to look back at my reviews of this Finnish band's first two releases to remind myself about them, and, as it turns out,  I didn't really write all that much. The impression I get is their earlier material was quite fast, while this is at a steadier tempo. REQUIEM FOREVER  is really quite good overall, with pleasing variety, highlights including "Hold On" and the roaring "Violate", although it's not enough to really stay in the memory for all that long.


***

Galloglass - Heavenseeker (2005)

Galloglass' debut LEGENDS FROM NOW AND NEVERMORE was excellent, and this follow-up (sadly, the band's last to date) is almost as good.
Again, it's constantly speedy, stradling the line between power and thrash metal at times, and while a few songs might not leap out easily, there are many melodious and dynamic highlights all the same, like "Perished In Flames", "Dawn Of A New Age", "Heavenseeker" and "Signs" (alright, "Signs" is less dynamic, but still good), and once more the violin is a welcome touch, although it's not quite as prominent here as it was on NEVERMORE, while a couple of members of Annihilator also make appearances (on guitar, not violin).
How very sad that these German boys never got around to bringing out another record. I don't know what the various members have done since -  I can't find even a small page about the band on Wikipedia.  But if they ever do return, power metal fans will want to take note.
In the meantime, take note of what Galloglass has done already. It's worth it.

****
 

Primal Fear - Seven Seals (2005)

After a bit of a slip into mediocrity, Primal Fear return to form with maybe their best album to date, helped by that good old standby of heavy metal, the apocalypse.
The band sounds revitalised here as they sing of the battle between Heaven and Hell (including how, supposedly, some demons are not really evil, but just under evil spells), taken from the Book of Revelation, highlights including the opening "Angels And Demons", the title song, which is a slow piece, but a good one, and the roaring "Carniwar". The extravagent "Diabolus" is pretty decent too, although a couple of the other songs (like "All For One") go on for a bit too long.
Featuring touches of orchestration here and there, giving the band a slightly different sound than normal, SEVEN SEALS doesn't re-invent the wheel or anything, but it is good, solid heavy metal, from a group who has rediscovered their life and passion.

***1/2

Suspyre - The Silvery Image (2005)

As I've mentioned before, American power metal doesn't excite me reguarly, but Suspyre starts off well here (although the band members' names include Gregg Rossetti, Kirk Schwenkler and Sam Paulicelli, so there's obviously some close European influence there anyway) with a sometimes grand, symphonic album.
Very strong in keyboards at times, like with "Distant Skies", but also with vigorous guitar work, as well as other pleasing instrumental touches here and there (bassist Schwenkler contributes the flute at one point), this is a skilful release, with such songs as "The Breath Of Gloria", "Last Of The Survivors" and "The City Under Sands" fine listens.

***1/2

Thy Majestie - Jeanne d'Arc (2005)

Thus far, Thy Majestie has disappointed me greatly, presenting a grandiose musical style I like, with material I don't. But this album, about the life of Joan of Arc, and with new singer Giulio Di Gregorio, finally produces satisfaction.
The music is much more focused this time around, with tighter song constructions that results in some magnficent moments found with such songs as "Ride To Chinon", "... For Orleans", "Siege Of Paris" and the concluding, nine-minute "The Trial". There is a choir that is just used occasionally, but affectively, and while there are still moments that are a bit weak, overall, the record has a cinematic sweep (including the lyrics) that is dramatic, exciting, moving and tragic. Whether you are well versed in the deeds of the great French lady (and she was pretty impressive) or not, if you like speedy power metal, mixed with orchestral grandeur, this is certainly worth the price of admission.

****

Arthemis - Back From The Heat (2005)

Mmmm... Arthemis had not won me over thus far, not even the much acclaimed THE DAMNED SHIP, which I think is damned overrated. Here, with their appealling vocal harmonies, they sound rather like a speedier Uriah Heep, and it makes for a reasonable listen, highlights including "Rise Up From The Ashes", "Star Wars" and "Thunder Wrath", but it's still nothing to do cartwheels over.
Not that I can do cartwheels anyway, but if I could, I wouldn't.
Over this.

**1/2

Vision Divine - The Perfect Machine (2005)

Vision Divine's STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS was a big jump in quality over the band's first two albums, but this one isn't able to match it.  The story helps, that being of a society which invents a machine that can end death for all, which results in God leaving them to it, before they realise immortality isn't so great after all, so they ask God back. 
This is all good enough to keep the interest, and the music is still well done, being again a mixture of power and progressive metal. It's just not as grabbing as STREAM was.

***

Nocturnal Rites - Grand Illusion (2005)

Nocturnal Rites keep stomping along with this, their seventh album.  I've always quite liked the group, without ever thinking they're anything all that special, and that's pretty much how things are here. Some have complained that their power metal sound had become "too modern" (I'm not exactly sure what that means in this context) by now, but to me, they remain reliable, without being particularly exciting.

***

Divinefire - Hero (2005)

Divinefire's second album is a bit of a comedown from their outstanding debut GLORY THY NAME, and not just because there's no "Never Surrender", although an equal to that would have been nice. The songs don't jump out as much on this occasion. However, it's still a fine release, with powerful playing throughout, performed largely by Jani Stefanović (drums, guitars, keyboards), although he also brings in a few death grunts which, admittedly, aren't terribly intrusive, but are still unnecessary.  Narnia's Christian Rivel again does a good job on leading vocals. The Christian lyrics are a plus for me, and help make this a good listen overall, even if it does fall a bit short of its predecessor.
And the concluding cover of Queen's "The Show Must Go On" is good too.

***1/2

Symphorce - Godspeed (2005)

After a bit of a disappointment with TWICE SECOND, Symphorce return with something better here.  Early songs "Everlasting Life" and "Nowhere" are good, and the ferocious "Without A Trace" livens things up later. The rest is middling, but what helps throughout are the constant guitar riffs. Symphorce has always been one of the heavier power metal bands around, and they certainly don't let anyone down in that department with Godspeed.

***

Skylark - Fairytales (2005)

For all their faults, it would be unfair to accuse Skylark of recording the same album twice. After 2004's WINGS, one of the more unusual power metal records one is likely to find, comes Fairytales, which brings back the fast tempos, but also changes things vocally. While WINGS was dominated by male singing, this has Kiara doing most of the duties, at least until the latter part, and she does pretty well (bearing in mind vocals have never been one of the band's strong points).
Skylark has always been about as heavy as cotton wool, with little in the way of guitar solos, and nothing's changed there, with such keyboard instruments as organ, piano and harpsichord prominent, but the shifts in time signatures and nice little melodious passages here and there keep things interesting.
The problem comes when they go for the long tracks.  "Lions Are The World" is eleven minutes, and is pretty good, but goes on too long, and has dumb lyrics. "Little Red Riding Hood", which comes near the end (after a reasonable cover of Mike Oldfield's "Moonlight Shadow", which is pretty good, but would have been better without the moments of male roaring), and has Fabio Dozzo doing the singing, is eighteen minutes, and just doesn't work. The problem is, the band just does not have the musical ingenuity to warrant such lengths, so we're treated to passages of tedium that offset the positives found earlier.
But, no matter what they attempt, Skylark continues to intrigue me, and has me wondering just what they're going to come up with next.

***

Stratovarius - Stratovarius (2005)

What the hell is this??
That was my first thought when I started listening to "Maniac Dance", with its stiff electronic noodlings. Hey, I like electronics, but I like them done well. And it wasn't the Stratovarius I was used to.
Then come the lyrics - "This year has been a nightmare, I've been so low, I don't care/I've dwelled in depths of darkness, swam across the ocean of pain/I've fed the tabloids, the media, it's a bottomless pit, a redia/Front pages, gossips, knifings, drunken nights and days.", and I now know the band was going through much inner turmoil at the time of this album's release. Timo Tolkki had had a nervous breakdown and been diagnosed with bi-polar, followed by him being stabbed at a concert, although this was supposed to be a hoax, which makes the lyrics all the worse. Also a hoax was Timo Kotipelto being fired briefly from the band, and replaced by some girl called Katrina K.
So from all this we have a half-hearted, plodding and fatally misguided record, with little of Jens Johansson's symphonic sound, no real speed, and mostly ordinary melodies. There are moments that give a bit of hope, like with "Leave The Tribe" (although, since the song comes near the end, hope is pretty much gone by then), and "Götterdämmerung (Zenith of Power)" laments Hitler - but even that sounds strained. And Kotipelto does very poorly at trying to fit the lyrics into the music. That has been a problem in the past, and I don't think I've mentioned it, because the good has outweighed such a problem. But not in this case.
Speaking of strained, the concluding "United" takes pretention to its extreme - "United we stand, divided we fall, the sun is shining for each and for all/The future is bright and there's hope in the air, together we're singing, together we care."
Of course, united is something they were not. Bassist Jari Kainulainen was fired soon after this, and such was the resulting division that Tolkki eventually disbanded Stratovarius altogether.
But that didn't last. The band eventually returned, without Tolkki and Kainulainen, and released POLARIS in 2009.
What a sad state of affairs for such a fine, dignified band.  And what a sad album this is for Tolkki's eventual departure.

**

Kaledon - Legend Of The Forgotten Reign - Chapter 3: The Way Of The Light (2005)

Kaledon's third album is so far away from their horrible debut in regards to quality, that it's quite remarkable, even if I still can't warm to Claudio Conti's vocals.
I can't say I'm keeping up with the story, but there are so many flying songs here, it doesn't really matter. Highlights include "The Glory Starts", "The Hidden Ways", "In The Eyes Of The Queen", "Break The Chant" and "Sword On The Shoulder". The record is a bit weak in the middle, but still not bad, and the overall result is a first rate piece of pompous power/progressive metal that shows these Italians have now got a handle on what they're setting out to do.
And they're doing it exceptionally well.

****1/2

Platitude - Silence Speaks (2005)

Platitude's third and final album is a pretty dull collection of rock that springs to life a bit towards the end, with "After The Storm" and "Walk With Me", but not enough to justify everything else. I rated their first two records three stars, but I can't remember anything of them, and didn't write very much in the reviews, so I think it's fair to say that, overall, Platitude aren't one of the power metal bands that will ever settle in my favourites list.

*1/2

Gamma Ray - Majestic (2005)

Gamma Ray's first album of original material in four years, with a cover that looks rather like Uriah Heep's ABOMINOG, this has the band as ferocious as usual, as they scream about people condemned to Hell, and anti-christs going to Hell, and Satan causing trouble and eventually ending up in Hell. Two of the songs are called "Hell Is Thy Home" and "Condemned To Hell".  Yes, they really overdo the Hell thing here a bit, but it's all a lament, as we can see with "Majesty" - Still I dream of a tomorrow, when the world is free again/In the end the tyrant's falling, love wins again!"
There's plenty to like musically, such as "Fight", the vampiric "Blood Religion" ("I was walking through the darkness, searching for a white neck to bite/I was restless and the hunger carried me on through the night") and the anti-war "How Long", but there are a few weak moments which keep the record from being among the band's best.
Still, Gamma Ray are terrific fun when they get it right, and there's enough success here to make Majestic worthwhile.

***1/2

Power Quest - Magic Never Dies (2005)

I've said before that Power Quest is an ideal band to demonstrate to the not-we what power metal is all about (well, I wrote something like that), and this, their third album enforces that view.
At its best, Magic Never Dies typifies so much of the genre, with its blending of guitars and shimmering keyboards by main songwriter Steve Williams, speedy rhythms (but with variations throughout) and flying melodies. Songs like "Galaxies Unknown", "Diamond Sky", "Children Of The Dream" and "Strike Force" are why so many people love this type of music; they are so sublime, and Alessio Garavello's lovely vocals are the icing on the cake.
There are weak moments, certainly, particularly the sappy, broken-heart ballad "The Message", which would have been better off ejected into a black hole. But there's so much to admire and enjoy here, that they can be overlooked. 
Power Quest might not have the dynamism or breathaking thrillride skills of fellow Brits DragonForce, but they remain a winning band who demand inclusion in any power metal fan's collection.  May their magic never die.

****

Savage Circus - Dreamland Manor (2005)

I approached this album with the vague awareness that it was brought together by a member of Blind Guardian, and when I started playing it, and heard the vocals, I assumed that member was Hansi Kürsch. But no, it's the drummer, Thomen Staunch, who's got it all going, and the vocalist is actually Persuader's Jens Carlsson, who had already demonstrated his similarities with Kürsch, so that made sense. He brought with him guitarist Emil Norberg, and already in the starting line-up was Iron Savior's Piet Sielck on guitar and backing vocals, so this is pretty much a power metal supergroup.
The album is sometimes pretty super as well. It's certainly dripped in Blind Guardian, from speed to sound, although it's not as complex as the likes of IMAGINATIONS OF THE OTHER SIDE, being more straight-up rock in playing and song structures. But such tracks as "Tomorrowland", "Ghost Story", "When Hell Awakes" and even the slower piece, "Beyond Reality", are dynamic and powerful as they sing of battling with evil and... well, you know, the expected fantasy things, but with a darker shadow than is normal (other titles include "Evil Eyes" and "Waltz Of The Demon").
It would be unfair to spend too much time comparing Savage Circus with the bands they're related to, and if one can manage to do that, then there is a lot of enjoyment to be had with Dreamland Manor and its furiously successful display of metal.

****

Kiuas - The Spirit Of Ukko (2005)

Finnish band Kiuas burst onto the scene with this debut, which varies from power metal to black metal at times (with some of the guitar sounds, and speedy drumming), with changes in tempo (and occasional moments of death growls) that bring around a reasonable amount of variety. I can't say the music is always wonderful, but songs like "The Spirit Of Ukko" (Ukko is the greatest of the pagan gods in Finnish mythology) and "Warrior Soul" are good. This is certainly one of the more unusual power metal records out there, and it does what it does quite well.

***

Royal Hunt - Paper Blood (2005)

This Royal Hunt album was recorded after the exit of Jacob Kjaer and Steen Mogensen, who had been replaced by Marcus Jidell (guitar) and Allan Sørensen (drums), but the band's sound is pretty much the same.
Of the ten tracks, three are instrumentals, and heavy metal instrumentals rarely do much for me, as is the case here (especially with the concluding "Twice Around The World", which seems to go around the world fifty times), so that leaves the songs, and they're quite good, if nothing terribly new.  Highlights include "Not My Kind", "Never Give Up" and "Paper Blood", while "Seven Days" seems to be some grumby, rumpy complaint against Christianity in some way (seven days of creation and all that).
Vocalist John West left after this, to be replaced by former Yngwie Malmsteen contributer (and also  singer with Ring Of Fire) Mark Boals.

***

Karelia - Raise (2005)

Second album by French band Karelia is initially a bit disappointing, as there is less of the choral, symphonic sound that helped make their debut, USUAL TRAGEDY, so impressive. But, after a rather ordinary beginning, it lifts its game, thanks to songs like "The Hermit", "Cross And Crescent" and "Tearful Clown" which, oddly, sounds a bit like Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive".
It's still moody and gothic, with power metal underpinnings, and remains quite an enjoyable listen in the end.

***

Cryonic Temple - In Thy Power (2005)

Three albums in, and another top listen from Cryonic Temple.
I actually wanted to rate this higher than the two before, but there's just a bit of lazy writing with the likes of "Wolfcry" and "Rapid Fire". But there's so much more that's good, as warriors battle evil, like "In Thy Power", "Beast Slayer" ("I'm alone in this dark world, it's me, my guns and my trusted wolf/I am the Slayer, the chaser of unholy prey, I'm alone in this dark world." Woohoo!), "A Soldier's Tale" and the inevitable salute to heavy metal which concludes the record, the rousing "Eternal Flames Of Metal".
Speedy and catchy, it's true there's not a lot of variety here, but it's so passionate and grabbing, it's impossible not to like. Cryonic Temple really are one of the more underrated bands of the power metal genre, and deserve to be sought out.

***1/2