Reviews: Soen, Frenzy, Summoned Tide, Mortanius (By Rich)

Now onto their fourth album, progressive metallers Soen astonish with their blinding new release Lotus. This is the first album with new guitarist Cody Ford who puts in an absolutely magnificent performance but apart from that the line up remains the same from previous album Lykaia. Lotus very much feels like the natural successor to Lykaia furthering the bands definitive sound and shaking off those pesky Tool comparisons which have followed the band since their debut album. The emotion and the atmosphere are hugely ramped up with the stunning soulful vocals of frontman Joel Ekelöf really adding to the mournful and melancholic feel of the album. Gentler songs such as the title track and River are guaranteed to hit you right in the feelings. 

 There are also heavier songs with lots of staccato riffs such as Opponent, Rival and single Martyrs. The rest of the band put in sterling performances - there is a greater emphasis on the keyboards by Lars Åhlund, the bluesy lead guitar playing by newcomer Cody Ford is sublime, intricate bass rhythms by Stefan Stenberg and the stylish, complex but restrained drumming by ex-Opeth man Martin Lopez. Lotus is definitely the finest album Soen have released to date with a more streamlined but no less effective approach than their previous albums. Deeply atmospheric and highly emotionally charged this is an album that is sure to be prevalent in many people's best of lists at the end of the year. 9/10

Frenzy: Blind Justice (Self Released)

Blind Justice is the debut full length by Spanish heavy metal maniacs Frenzy and the album is very much a joint celebration of comic books and classic heavy metal. The lyrics are all based around the favourite comic books and graphic novels by the band including Daredevil, X-Men and Silver Surfer and the album artwork is very much in a comic book style and very visually striking. Musically this is an absolute throwback to heavy metal from the early to mid 1980’s with definite influences from the NWOBHM scene as well as bands such as Loudness and Dokken. 

The songs range from heavy metal pounders to some verging on a more hard rock style and there’s enough variation to hold your interest throughout. The playing throughout is impressive and especially the lead guitars are at times absolutely spectacular channelling legends such as Yngwie Malmsteen and Eddie Van Halen at times especially during closing shredathon Shred Or Die. Blind Justice won’t win awards for originality and Frenzy are joining a long list of bands playing retro heavy metal but they do it well and their passion and enthusiasm cannot be questioned or doubted. Not an essential listen but a very enjoyable one. 7/10

Summoned Tide: Dystopia (Self Released)

Dystopia is the third album by Swedish progressive power metal band Summoned Tide. Not a band I am familiar with but Summoned Tide have a sound that straddles the line between power metal, progressive metal and AOR. There is a prevalent use of keyboards throughout the album with a retro 80’s synth style used for a fair chunk of the album. Progressive power metal is a very hit or miss genre for me. When it’s done well it can be absolutely amazing but when not it can be very dull and laborious. Unfortunately Dystopia sits more on the dull and laborious side of the fence. The songs are generally very unengaging but thankfully on the whole aren’t too long as I did find the album a bit of a struggle to get through. Onto the positives though one thing that did stand out were the vocals by singer Rickard Thelin who at times has a voice that sound like a cross between Kai Hansen and Andre Matos. There are a couple of songs which did stand head and shoulders above the others and they were Farewell and Stay By You. Dystopia was a very disappointing album for me with uninteresting songwriting and a lack of memorable riffs. I think Summoned Tide should work on furthering the power metal elements in their sound as what they have done on Dystopia is quite frankly boring. 5/10

Mortanius: Till Death Do Us Part (Rockshots Records)

After a string of EP’s since their formation in 2013, progressive power metallers Mortanius release their debut full length album Till Death Do Us Apart and it is rather good. Mortanius play progressive power metal with symphonic and neo-classical influences with a sound quite reminiscent of Symphony X at times. The core power metal sound is there - huge melodies, catchy choruses, big harmonies but all wrapped up in complex and dynamic compositions. The album is made up of five songs - with three of those being in excess of 9 minutes. This is an album that gets more interesting and enjoyable as it goes on with some of the longest songs being the finest on the album with Jaded and the huge 18 minute plus title track being the highlights for me. The album does close on a bit of an oddity which is a power metal ballad version of Wham’s Last Christmas. An odd choice of cover for an album being released in February. Till Death Do Us Part is an excellent release with great songwriting and fantastic performances - vocalist Lucas Flocco particularly stands out. If you are a fan of the power and progressive metal genres then this album comes recommended. 8/10