AT VANCE - Facing Your Enemy

The new album from the band of Olaf Lenk is no surprise for the connoisseurs of the band, but still a pleasant release for everyone into melodic Power Metal. First of all, the album is dominated by the excellent melodies created by Olaf Lenk, either created by guitars or keyboards. They are plenty, well used, and extremely catchy. The second thing that impresses is the vocals, which are harsh enough and fit perfectly with the music, but have a wide range something that is obvious when the band slows down to more melodic moments. The music is Melodic Power Metal in general, with enough Neoclassical shredding here and there, killer melodies as we already mentioned, and some Hard Rock touches. In general, this album is pure fun to listen to, with songs that have moments to sing along, tap your feet with the rhythm, and bang you head with. But, behind the surface hides a well arranged album, with music that is not as shallow as one might thing, with interesting ideas, and musicianship that is high above the average. What is enjoyable most is that the album contains enough variety, and some surprising tunes come to surface. One of them is the acoustic "Things I Never Needed" that completes the album, and shows exactly the ability of the singer to deliver, either on the fast tracks, but also when things slow down. The production is perfect, as clear as possible and as Heavy as an album like this should be. With music that contains equal doses of melodies and riffs, excellent vocals, a solid rhythm section, and remains catchy and groovy most of the time, this album will be another milestone in the history of the band.

9/10