I just have to start by saying that I am a total fan boy for Andy. I love every release he has ever sung on. Godspeed is certainly no exception to this rule, he delivers a truly strong performance as does the rest of the band. Beware before picking up this release, it will blow you over, so make sure you are sitting down. On to the review!!
The band began with Andy, H.P., Stefan Kollner, Dennis and Stefan Bertolla who left after the first release (Truth To Promises - 1999). Cedric would then be added for the next release, Sinctuary (2000). The group would remain together for their follow-up, Phorcefulahead (2002), after which the band would slightly alter. Twice Second (2004) saw the addition of Markus Pohl as a second guitarist and Sascha Sauer on the drums. After a successful tour with Grave Digger, the band would record this present release and they have plans to release their first DVD shortly.
God damnit can Andy sing or what? Every Brainstorm and Symphorce release just has an outstanding performance by Mr. Franck. He is easily one of my favorite vocalists not just in Power Metal but also in Heavy Metal as a whole. Godspeed begins with a rather pleasant intro and then blasts into the thunderous Everlasting Life. This song has a great feel to it, it also has a totally rocking guitar solo in it to boot.
Another thing that Andy does or should I say has done is a vocal distortion on certain words which sounds fricking great by the way. Now, I could rave all day about how much of a fan boy I am for Andy, but then I would look over the rest of Symphorce which would be a vital mistake. Cedric on guitar totally rips with a solo in a good majority of the songs on the album, which certainly doesn't hurt the album either. I particularly like his guitar tone in the song Haunting with the slides at the beginning and then just busting in a very powerful guitar line.
Haunting is also a place where Stefan shines. The song has a variety of time changes, which makes it a little difficult for him as well as for the rest of the band. H.P.'s effect on the keyboards during the chorus are truly haunting(ha, I made a funny). I also like how the effect fades this song into the next one, Black Water. Speaking of Black Water, it's another truly powerful song on the album (wow, all these powerful songs on a Power Metal album, go figure). This is the song where the bass player Dennis caught my attention. Truly a stunning bass line, which you don't get real often in Metal.
Symphorce have produced another quality release and with me being a big fan of their back catalogue, this release is one of the highlights of the year. Andy, this may not mean much coming from a lowly magazine editor, but way to go at putting out releases this year that are in my top 10 if not top 5. Fans of a slightly darker Power Metal should more than likely pick this up, and fans of Symphorce I will hunt you down if you don't pick this up.