METALITE hailing from Stockholm, Sweden were formed in 2015. The melodic Power Metal outfit released so far one EP and three full-length albums. Their fourth album “Expedition One” has an impressive length of about 68 minutes. It was produced by Edwin Premberg, and mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen (ARCH ENEMY; DELAIN; EPICA) at Hansen Studios, Denmark. The album was released via German label AFM Records, which has many Heavy, Power, and Thrash Metal bands among their current roster.

The 16-track album has a dynamic start with powerful riffing and catchy melodies at a fast tempo. The sound is enriched with some electronic additions, which are mostly in the background, but they make an impact on the sound. The chorus part is almost anthemic with sing-along chorus lines. The vocals are clean and vary between the medium to higher end of the vocal range. The title track has a few Power Metal features during the break leading to the lead guitar solo. “Explorer” is similarly dynamic with a few more Power Metal vibes including double-bass drumming and a cool lead guitar solo. Unfortunately, there is too much electronic playing around, which does not add anything to the track. Latest during “CtrAltDel” and “Cyberdome”, it becomes evident that the album sound is heavily inspired by AMARANTHE. The lead guitars are often very nice to listen to, but the chorus melodies are too much sing-along for my taste.

Many tracks include prominent keyboard parts and electronic samplings, which at times ruins the song. For example, songs like “Blazing Skies” or “Legendary” could have become good Power Metal tracks if there were not this electronic overload. “Outer Worlds” has a promising and powerful start but goes quickly back to the familiar sound patterns of the album. “New Generation” is one of the few tracks at a measured tempo as most album tracks are up-tempo or mid-tempo. It is a welcomed change as most tracks are a bit one-dimensional. “New Generation” is a sing-along live track for the crowd. It is no surprise that the track is the official video release, and the YouTube link is provided below.

One of the album highlights is one of the album ballads “In My Dreams”: powerful guitar riffing, a bit more darkness and slight melancholy in the melodies, and no electronic playing around in the entire track. I am not really a fan of ballads, so it speaks volume that “In My Dreams” is one of my favorite album tracks. The other album ballad is the guitar-driven instrumental “Utopia”, which is also one of the better tracks on the album. Some of the tracks have some cool moments, often it is the riffing, the drumming, the lead guitar solos, or even the sing-along chorus lines, such as the riffing in “Free”, the lead guitar solos in “Legendary”, “Explorer”, and “Paradise”, or the chorus part of “Take My Hand”. Unfortunately, some good parts do not make good songs.

METALITE deliver an album that gave me certainly a hard time to review. “Expedition One” is an easy-to-listen album, there is too much catchiness, too many electronics, too much Pop with guitars, and too little substance and character. It is a very one-dimensional album where the songs are easy to predict with a couple of exceptions. The album is well produced. “Expedition One” will surely have its share of fans and they will look forward to seeing METALITE performing the new material live.