![]() “Sacrifice” is bookended by some interesting laid-back western-sounding sections that I wish the band would’ve developed further, but their signature progressive power metal sandwiched in between generally works well. Opener “Fistful of Misery” pulls off the midtempo stomp well, with the backing chants actually adding something and the whole arrangement fitting together quite nicely. did at least come up with a few tracks that emerge largely unscathed by the problems that have plagued the band of late. The verses and instrumental breaks are generally solid throughout, but the awkward choruses keep the songs from really catching hold. He leads the way on the slow-developing refrains of both “The Last Soul Alive” and “The Wishing Well,” the oddly rushed chorus lines of “A Million Ways to Die” and most ridiculously, the pseudo-stomp of “Rest in Peace.” None of these choruses were particularly well-arranged to begin with, but neither Lübcke nor Cooper actualizes them at all, and the whole thing is drowned in so much reverb that it becomes hard to process anyway. Too many of these tracks feature awkward choruses led not by Cooper, but by the irritating-as-ever backing vocals of Kenny Lübcke. What makes this album merely passable rather than strong is the songwriting, which takes a step back and might be the band’s weakest collection of tracks since Eyewitness. The good news, production-wise, is that, perhaps due to the organic approach, Cooper’s vocals don’t have the same ridiculous autotuning as before, making it a lot easier to take these songs seriously.īut really, the production overall is okay, the instrumental performances are (as always) quite strong, and even Cooper, apart from a couple of really messy high notes (three albums into this pattern, I still cannot understand for the life of me why 50% of his high phrases sound fine and the other 50% sound awful) is good enough to get by-I can’t really say he sinks any of the songs here, even as there are a bunch of notes that could’ve been better in a vacuum. There is also a ton of reverb on this thing, especially on the drums, which sometimes sound like they were recorded a room away from the microphones, and it gets distracting and washed-out at times. ![]() Indeed, there is a notable sonic difference that results, as Cast in Stone is clearly more dynamic, but it also carries with it a sense of insular darkness that seems ill-fitting for a band that tends to churn out anthemic power metal. In promoting the album, Andersen has emphasized that it was put together in the old-school way, using all analog technology to achieve a more dynamic, organic sound. For instance, the vocal lines on the bridge of “The Last Soul Alive” sound incredibly awkward, and what is supposed to be a climactic ending to “Rest in Peace” falls flat. Though Cast in Stone isn’t quite as sloppy in its realization of its goals as the preceding two discs, it still fails to effectively navigate this central issue. Basically, either Cooper’s voice has to improve, or André Andersen has to write songs that actually fit Cooper’s voice, not the voice he used to have. It’s not that I think Royal Hunt, or even Cooper himself, is washed up, but something has to give if the band is ever going to reach the consistency of even X again, to say nothing of Paradox. Both 2013’s A Life to Die For and 2015’s Devil’s Dozen featured strained midrange singing, hoarse, empty attempts at replicating Cooper’s previously sparkling upper-register tone, and most egregiously, some pretty blatant and poorly-implemented pitch correction on the vocals that made otherwise excellent songs like “A Bullet’s Tale” and “Won’t Trust, Won’t Fear, Won’t Beg” hard to stomach.Īs such, my expectations for Cast in Stone were not high. Those who have read my reviews of much of the band’s previous work know that I’m a fan of most of it-Royal Hunt is indeed one of my favorite bands ever-but not their most recent efforts, largely due to Cooper’s vocal performance. Royal Hunt are at it again, now with their fourteenth studio album, and their fourth since the return of vocalist D.C.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |