Just another reason why I don't listen to a lot of modern "melodic power metal," European or otherwise. Bjorn Jansson's faux-Tempest/Dickinson vocals are almost as passé as Ratt's entire discography. "Afraid Of The Dark" imitates pre-Whitesnake Whitesnake, with Jim Matheos and D.C. Cooper guesting (but D.C. had a cold that day). And yes, much of the material does recall Royal Hunt and Artension — just don't expect the same level of quality, as this is just more "rock" hoisted out of the same quarry. "Watch Me Run," "Walk Away," and the title track sound a bit more contemporary, but only in the way Godsmack and other mainstream nü-metal acts do; this trio of tunes is completely dispensable, though.
Now, "Kings Call" is a solid sampling of tunesmithing that recalls mid-80s Black Sabbath, Saxon, and other bands of their ilk. One or two worthwhile songs out of eleven isn't much a fender-bender, is it? Bjorn's guitar-slinging brother, Benny — a graduate of the Lynch'steen Academy of Guitar — has all the right squealin' & crunchin' moves when it comes to this sort of music, but there's that nagging feeling we've all seen this movie on cable many times before. Daniel Flores' drumming (and he's quite good) would be more enjoyable had it emerged from the muddy production values unscathed, but it was not to be.
Still Alive…? Barely. Treading water, it seems. I, for one, am glad that no lyrics were printed; Haunted by demons/the nightmare has come …argh!
P.S. Who ordered the incredibly cheesy synthesizer textures that crop up where they do absolutely no good at all?
Tracklist:
1. The Awakening 4:31
2. Still Alive 3:43
3. Afraid Of The Dark 3:46
4. Sword Of Sorrow 4:36
5. Nightmare 3:06
6. Moment Of Truth 3:39
7. Revenge Will Come 4:11
8. Watch Me Run 3:54
9. Walk Away 3:10
10. Kings Call 4:10
11. Who I Am 3:35
Total time: 42:26
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