Tag Archives: Symphonic Rock

Royal Hunt – XIII: Devil’s Dozen

Posted on by

ROYAL-HUNT_XIII-Devils-Dozen

It is hard to be distinctive in the frilly-shirted, leather waist-coated, hair-billowing-majestically-in-the-wind world of Power Metal. Yet, make your mark and you’ll find a dedicated, passionate and devoted audience willing to support you, smile benevolently at any missteps and devour anything approaching a return to form. Over the course of their twenty six year career, Denmark’s top exponent of the art Royal Hunt have witnessed all of the above, and with XIII: Devil’s Dozen (Frontiers) have rewarded once more their loyal subjects.

The return to the fold of DC Cooper in 2012 has ensured that the Royal Hunt continues to ride strong into the latter part of their career like a fine wine, as album thirteen rivals Paradox (Magna Carta) as their crowning moment.

Energized by the powerful pigskin pounding of Narnia’s Andreas Johansson, ‘So Right, So Wrong’ announces the commencement of the album in spectacular fashion, with a dramatic and rousing symphonic introduction that bursts out into rocking, roaring guitars. Cooper’s vocals add to the theatrical, Broadway feel before delivering the first, and biggest, of several big choruses.

While Cooper is an obvious and deserving focal point, once again it is Andre Andersen who is the conductor of majesties from behind the ivories (or whatever the keys of a synth are made of…), his songwriting exuding a joie de vivre that is infectious, with each track larger than life. ‘May You Never (Walk Alone)’ hosts everything that works about Royal Hunt, starting life as a piano ballad before exploding in a thunder of drums, power chords, bass runs and synth stabs, racing down the aortic valves fuelling the body.

A bombastic, ambitious, joyful, layered and uplifting album, Andersen knows how to switch it up; ‘Riches To Rags’ introduces a ridiculously catchy piped motif and a folk jiggery-pokery to proceedings, ‘Until The Day’ is over the top symphonic hard rock semi-balladic majesty while ‘Heart On A Platter’ bounces in with thick bass swagger and jazzy keys embellishments, that builds up to a Kamelot-meets-Whitesnake slip of the tongue.

We’ve all witnessed many an album of this ilk that descends into sterile, flaccid by-numbers staid song-writing. Despite each track touching the six minute mark, XIII never outstays its welcome. With flashes of Dokken and Stratovarius, Royal Hunt show, a quarter of a century into their career, how the marriage of power metal with symphonic and hard rock should be done.

 

8.0/10

 

STEVE TOVEY


The Poodles – Devil In The Details

Posted on by

ob_f7b78d_141219-the-poodles-devilinthedetails-1

There’s a certain je ne sais quoi about The Poodles image that borders on hipster irony, and/or a touch of Steel Panther parody, though at the same time, it could just as well be a plain old “wacky” sense of humour. Either which way, the band have racked up ten Top 10 hits in their native Sweden, and swagger into album number six, Devil In The Details (Gain), on the back of a rising popularity that has continued to grow since their début Metal Will Stand Tall (Lionheart) in 2006.

While the album opens in the symphonic power rock vein of a less metal Kamelot with the dramatic ‘Before I Die’ and its bombastic chorus rising from a considered, dark verse, (‘Crack In The Wall’ has a similar feel), The Poodles true sound lies in a rockier, glammier sound, and sure enough ‘The Greatest’ is a hit single with a Bon Jovi meets 30 Seconds To Mars stamp all over it.

The Poodles are a Hard Rock band who are at home in the Power Metal market (indeed guitarist Pontus Norgren left to join Hammerfall), and, as such, aren’t afraid to incorporate a more epic bent to their music – ‘Need To Believe’ nods to Tony Martin era Black Sabbath – as well as some versatility ‘(What The Hell) Baby’ funks along (and actually has a chorus that it’s not unimaginable could have been written for Britney Spears).  However, consistency is a bit of an issue, as is stamina as things dip towards the end, with final four ‘Stop’, ‘Creator and Breaker’ and ‘Borderline’ being bone fide plodders, while a ‘Life Without You’ is saved only by a great chorus that demands a fist up and a grin on the face all tacked onto a tepid toil.

While not the strongest release of the bands’ canon, there is no need to be negative, as there is plenty to appeal to their existing fans, plus those of acts like Europe and Stratovarius.

 

6.0/10

The Poodles on Facebook

 

STEVE TOVEY


Kaipa – Sattyg

Posted on by

Sattyg

Despite not being one of Prog’s most celebrated acts, Kaipa have magnificent legacy that spans near 40 years (18 years of which spent on a hiatus in fairness, but still not to be taken lightly) with a branch of prog that encompasses symphonic music, Swedish traditional folk and explorative, tangent minded melodies. Since their reunion in 2000 there has been a plethora of rich additions to their history, with Sattyg (InsideOut/Century Media) the band’s latest.

Their tendency for colouful, fantasy based atmosphere remains present on Sattyg, and musically it doesn’t venture from their previous sound, which in itself is a cauldron of diverse influences, and here even including hints of medieval-like instrumentation married with an overall classic prog warmth, all producing an eclectic sound that transmits an impression that is neither dated nor current, with slight shades of a metallic feel in part.

One of Sattyg’s real strengths is the vocal combinations of Patrik Lundstrom and Aleena Gibson, both in their own displays, Gibson in particular a unique and vocally free spirit, who excel as a combined force who wed their harmonies and interplay together, proving as adventurous at times as the accompanying musical shifts.

An aural swirl that indulges the senses for nigh on 70 minutes across 7 reflective, meditative and eccentric musical passages, the sextet casually unfurl their folky and progressive indulgences, unhurried and unpressured, allowing each track to expand and develop as if in its’ own microcosm.  Yes, it may sit too much on the side of whimsy, for some but most will find an album with a multitude of layers, styles and nuances drawn from a palette of rich colours.

One of Progressive music’s underrated gems have added another jewel to their underplayed legacy.

 

8.0/10

Kaipa on Facebook

 

CHRIS TIPPELL