Kardinal Sin – Victorious (CD)

I shall start by admitting I’m NOT a fan of power metal. Fast pace, double bass drums, big choirs and major scale sing-along choruses verging on the Eurovision Song Contest just isn’t my thing. The opener “Patria (Fatherland)” is dangerously close to this, but manages to avoid the worst cringeworthily pastiches. However, the just run straight into that wall, with second track “Wall Of Stone”, which sounds like something in-between Hammerfall and The Poodles. I really like the verse, but the chorus is just too much Eurovision for me. Before I go on, I must say the band does sound great! Great vocals, killer guitar playing and a fantastic mix by Fredrik Folkare ( as always). “Mastermind” starts out soft, but soon the door is kicked in. This track is a bit more theatrical in its approach and the chorus is way better than the previous tracks. This one is more my bag! The title track is also pretty cool. I really like the cool twists in the verse and this one has sort of a “Phantom Of The Opera” vibe to it. Not bad at all. “Bonaparte” sounds a bit more like the missing link between the aforementioned Hammerfall and Rhapsody. “S.I.N” takes it down a bit with its acoustic intro, but blossoms out into a powerful big ballad. Even though, as I initially stated, this is not really my cup of tea, I think the band does a great job. It’s a high-quality album and fans of power metal should definitely check it out.

Janne Stark

Label: Tramp Music

Year: 2017

Country: Sweden

FULLFORCE - One (CD)

Swedish power metal all-star constellation Fullforce have been in the starting blocks for some time, but finally the debut has now been released. If the start by revealing the line-up you may get a picture of what this is all about. Vocals are handled by Cloudscape/Planet Alliance singer Mike Andersson, which secures that that department is well taken care of. The guitar department is run by former Hammerfall/Fullstrike stringsman Stefan Elmgren and Narnia/System Breakdown/Grimmark shredder CJ Grimmark. So, guitars: check. The bass work was initially handled by former Hammerfaller Magnus Rosén, but before the album he handed that task over to his Hammerfall replacement Tommy Larsson, and I’m not complaining here either. The drums are handled by none other than Hammerfall, former Silver Mountain, Malmsteen, Planet Alliance, Johansson drummer Anders Johansson, which seals the deal when it comes to musical talent in the band. Well, talent alone doesn’t make a great band. There have to be songs. So, how does the band do in this department? Album opener Mythomaniac actually didn’t fully convince me. It’s by no means a bad song, it just felt a bit – ok, good song, but I do expect some more from this bunch. Well, fear not, second track None Of Your Concern shatters all the previous doubts with it’s driving and heavy riffing, great chorus and powerful delivery. I think fans of Cloudscape, Planet Alliance and even to a certain extent Hammerfall, will feel pretty much at home. We’re talking melodic power metal here. It’s no reinvention of the wheel, but it’s a nice change of tyres I’d say. Songs like Oblivion throws in some nice oriental vibes, which makes a nice change. There’s also some more straight ahead classic hard rock riffing thrown into the mix, which is nice. The album is full of strong choruses, but fortunately not the type of major scale stuff where you’d end up in the Eurovision Song Contest if you remove the distorted guitars. Good solid stuff! I also like the mix by Grimmark. Powerful and with great separation. The song-writing has been shared between Andersson, Elmgren and Grimmark, which I also think contributes to the nice diversity in the songs. This is a good solid debut from a collection of great names, which proves this is not just a product that looks good on paper, it does sound great as well.

Janne Stark
Country: Sweden
Label: Steamhammer/SPV
Year: 2011
Link: http://www.fullforce.se/

DEATHDESTRUCTION - Deathdestruction (CD)

Brutal! To be honest this is not 100 % what I’m into. Still I can really get into the heavy groove and the riffs. Deathdestruction reminds me quite a bit of Pantera in their later days. The vocals by Jimmie Strimmel sound highly inspired by Phil Anselmo, especially in songs like Fuck Yeah and Kill It! You will probably recognize Jimmie’s name from bands like Dead By April, Nightrage and Cipher System. The other members are boys of great musical breeding as well. Guitarist Henrik Danhage, drummer Jonas Ekdahl and bass player Fredrik Larsson are all ex-Evergrey. Fredrik Larsson is of course also found in Hammerfall. Deathdestruction is nothing even remotely close to their former employers. The album is angry! It will bite you in the ass if you put it on and turn your back on it. It will shred your speakers and leave your sub woofer gasping for air. It sounds like they have taken Pantera’s sound and put a turbo charger on it. It’s heavier, fatter and with way more balls to the drum sound. The band made their debut with a live-EP and to be honest this album does sound very stripped down and live as well. No unnecessary overdubs, no wimpy harmony vocals. This is raw, this is brutal, and surprisingly enough I really find myself getting into this. It’s nothing for the faint hearted though – it’s Deathdestruction!
Janne Stark
Label: Sony Music
Country: Sweden
Year: 2011
Link: http://deathdestruction.com/