Tad Morose - Leaving The Past Behind (1993)

First album from this Swedish band is not as speedy as one would expect from power metal, with more of a gothic (reflected by the cover), slightly doomy approach, with atmospheric keyboards adding a welcome touch.  It's a reasonable listen, but not terribly imaginative.  Best songs include "Miracle" and particularly "Save Me".
Kristian Andren's vocals are quite good, but it would help if he didn't put the letter "W" before words that start with "I".

**1/2

Grave Digger - The Reaper (1993)

Alrighty, Grave Digger.
I have the first three albums of this German band, and have quite liked them, but have been put off by Chris Boltendahl's throaty, growly lyrics, which almost seem to be a parody.  This is their first album in seven years and, if the title doesn't make it obvious, it's about death.
Lots of death. 
I don't get into Satanism and stuff with music (or anything else), which is why I don't collect Slayer, and lost interest in Exodus after BONDED IN BLOOD, but when it's rather comic book in style, like it is here, I don't mind too much.  The music is fast, but not terribly imaginative. And yet there is some amusing fun to be had here, which is why I give it three stars.

***

Royal Hunt - Clown In The Mirror (1993)

Royal Hunt's second album again has the standard heavy metal sound augmented by songwriter Andre Andersen's keyboards (he plays guitar as well), and it's a pleasant listen, without being anything outstanding, and a notch below their debut.
***

Rage - The Missing Link (1993)

Rage tend to be a bit inconsistent from album to album, but this is their best one to date. It's regularly catchy from the get go, and even a lengthy song like the nine and a half minute "Lost In The Ice" doesn't outstay its welcome. There are a couple of negatives, like the rather irritating tin-can-sound of the drums on the otherwise good "From The Underworld", but this is a top listen overall.

****

Gamma Ray - Insanity & Genius (1993)

With Helloween not sure where they were going in the early nineties, Kai Hanson's offshoot, Gamma Ray, were still very much into power metal.  After the rather disappointing SIGH NO MORE, this album is something of an improvement, although it's rather haphazard.  It starts well with the rousing "Tribute To The Past" and "No Return", before things get rather spotty. The song "Gamma Ray" and "Insanity & Genius" have their moments, as does the Queen-inspired opus "Heal Me", while "Brothers" concludes things pretty well, but it still can't match the consistent quality of their debut, HEADING FOR TOMORROW".This was the band's last album to feature Ralf Scheepers on vocals, Hansen himself taking up the roll again for their next release, LAND OF THE FREE.

***

Angra - Angels Cry (1993)

This marks the first time I've ever listened to a Brazillian band, and I have to say Angra is very impressive with this debut release.
A mixture of power and progressive metal, with regular changes in time signatures from song to song, it carries a dignity and grace which is quite captivating throughout, but this doesn't compromise the genuine power that remains present.
Vocalist Andre Matos' voice, often quite high and flying, is a bit strained, but it suits the material quite well, even on the cover of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights".  Perhaps a bit worryingly, he fits into the role of Cathy with ease.
Such songs as "Carry On", "Angels Cry" (with its brief nod to Paganini's 'Caprice no. 24' classical piece) and "Evil Warning" are winning with their melodiousness and skilful playing, helping to make the record a pleasure to listen to. 

****

Helloween - Chameleon (1993)

After polarising opinion with PINK BUBBLES GO APE, Helloween did it even more with this follow-up, the double album Chameleon.
Music in the nineties had a few curses, one of which was dreadfully overlong albums, so the thought of a double tends to make me cringe all the more. But at just over seventy minutes, this is shorter than some single albums from that time, so I suppose it's not horrifying.
As for the material itself, with brass, orchestras, etc making appearances, it's certainly eclectic (Michael Kiske, Michael Weikath and Roland Grapow wrote four songs each) but not too bad. "When The Sinner" is clearly the best song, while "First Time" is pretty good, and "Windmill" is nice, but it does lose my interest as it goes. 
After this, vocalist Kiske and drummer Ingo Schichtenberg left the group, and they went to something approaching their "traditional" sound, much to the relief of many.

**1/2