With the end of URSS at the end of the 80s, the Cold War was gone, and hope shone on the horizon. People was finally free of the oppressing fear of a new world war that could extinguishing human race into the nuclear fire of atomic bombs. But unfortunately, the leaders of the world seem to be blind and unable to have a frank dialogue, and to put the lords of money (namely the great businessmen) in their due places. When a leader says ‘the interests of our country’ isn’t anything more than the interests of the gluttons for money and blood. And since the Cold War was gone, our tears are still running on war after war, on the Gulf, on Iraq, on Ukraine, on Lebanon, on Gaza and many others, when we see the blood of innocent running as water. No matter if you’re Christian, Muslin, Jew or any other, no matter if you’re left or right: your life means nothing to them, our lives aren’t worthy to them. And maybe this is the main idea behind the lyrics of “Odissey”, the first album of RELEASE THE TITANS.

Born from the ashes of the legendary Norwegian Heavy/Power Metal act GUARDIANS OF TIME, this band was born as a one-man project of its mastermind, the singer and guitarist Pål Olsen. One can ask if it’s a sequence of his old band, but even following the same genre (a Norwegian way of playing Heavy/Power Metal), there are different personal differences, and the melodies, the very good technical level, all sounds great. But’s not a sin to say that there’s a clear Hard Rock touch on the band’s music, so it’s truly delicious, and the most important: full of energy, personal and rich in instrumental arrangements, but coherent, solid and extremely catchy. The sonority is what one could expect: clean, defined and with everything sounding as needed. But there’s a different element of the usual for Power Metal acts: the weight is greater than they’re used to hear. Then it can be said that the insight on the production was to bring a heavy and aggressive sound, but defined in a way that the melodies can be heard without problems.

One can check that all the songs depict a crossing between Power Metal, some Symphonic Metal elements (due the keyboards), Heavy Metal (due the weight shown) and bits of Hard Rock (due the melodic hooks), but forgetting all the ‘dues’, to hear songs as “Dawning of Man” (excellent piano and keyboards intro preceding a heavy and melodic song, with excellent guitar riffs, solos and arrangements), “World Ablaze” (the melodies inherited from Hard Rock are clear on this one, with fine vocals and backing vocals being heard, and pay attention to the weight of the guitars), “Exodus” (what amazing melodies and keyboards touches, and catching chorus), “Sole Survivor” (this one has ambiences that reminds the ones used by German Power Metal acts, but with a heavier appeal, some aggressive snarling vocals and very good work on bass guitar and drums), “God of War” and “Sea of Tranquility” (wow, excellent guitar solos can be heard, and the Hard Rock catching elements are in evidence on these ones), and… Oh, come on! The album is so good and easy to be heard that it’s impossible to not hear (and like) “Horizons Beyond”, “Cryosleep”, “Cygnus-X1” and “Into the Unknown”.

Another good point: “Odyssey” is a conceptual album, using the idea of the sole survivor of the human race after the destruction of Earth (due to pollution and nuclear war) who travels to space. The details are all available on the band’s website, and are worthy of reading. And for this aspect, the songs are filled with contrasts of emotions as well. “Odyssey” is an amazing release, and fine first coming of RELEASE THE TITANS, and let’s hope that more will come on a near future.