The Curse Of The Avenger
Skeletoon
•
September 4, 2016
Don't let the name fool you, this a very serious band with alot of promise. This is the debut album from the Italian Power Metal band. Tracks two and three have a great additional guest musician, the awesome Roland Grapow, formerly of HELLOWEEN and mastermind of MASTERPLAN.
I highly enjoyed the various lyrical themes on this one, loved the shout out to Doctor Who on the opening song and the lyrics on the title track talk about that the heroes never have a chance to get a break. They are always on duty and no matter what, they have this pressure to perform and they are not allowed to complain or use excuses. Heroes don't get the recognition they deserve, I thought this was pretty cool.
It's traditional Power Metal, nothing fancy, very reminiscent of old school Power Metal from the mid to late nineties like HAMMERFALL, STRATOVARIUS, ANGRA, IRON FIRE (though I believe IRON FIRE was a bit later than that specific period). It does not reinvent the wheel but it's quite enjoyable. Really enjoyed hearing Roland Grapow on a few tracks, other than the MASTERPLAN stuff, his stuff with HELLOWEEN is still highly regarded amongst Power Metal purists.
I wasn't too keen on the two ballads on this one though. ''Hymn to the Moon'' is very reminiscent of ''Windmill'' by HELLOWEEN back in the day. HELLOWEEN has done some great ballads but this one is not one of them! Alot of classical and acoustic guitar on this ballad. As for ''Bad Lover'', the lyrics are cheesy at best and it's probably the worst song off of this release.
The rest of the album does a great job of covering those bad songs though. It finished off with a real Power Metal Anthem in ''Heavy Metal Dreamers''. I really enjoyed this song and its message. Don't put yourself down if you have a dream, if you want to do music, go ahead and do your best. Don't let people bring your down, keep holding on to your dreams. It thought this was quite powerful.
A highly enjoyable release from this new band!
8 / 10
Excellent
Songwriting
Musicianship
Memorability
Production
"The Curse Of The Avenger" Track-listing:
1. Timelord
2. What I Want
3. Heroes Don't Complain
4. Hymn to the Moon
5. The Curse of the Avenger
6. Bad Lover
7. Joker's Turn
8. Heavy Metal Dreamers
Skeletoon Lineup:
Charlie Dho- Bass
Henry Sidoti - Drums
Dimitri Meloni - Guitars
Tomi Fooler - Vocals
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