Born in 1969 in the small village of Saarbrücken, Germany, Frank Beck has found himself as a vocalist of many metal and rock bands. He first started singing as a part of a group when he joined a Blues Brothers tribute act, then formed other metal cover bands, and eventually Frank Beck wound up as lead vocalist of numerous speed/power/heavy metal groups. The most recent effort of his comes paired with the band Risen Atlantis, as their new album "Power To The Past" features him on all main vocals. The album is a chunky one, so sit down, shut up, and listen to Frank Beck's sought-after voice.

One song was released as a single on Spotify; "Glory to the Brave." One thing that hit me instantly was a tinny wash of sound in the background. Like ever-crashing cymbals continuously sounding behind the power metal instrumentation and vocals. Said instrumentation is aided by keyboards, soaring solos, and dynamic and pretty infectious energy. Still, a mixing issue that surely can't be from my earbuds persists throughout. Hopefully the rest of this fifty-three-minute album is devoid of the issue. A solid song hindered by poor production.

The opener of the full album, "Forever Spoken," seems to have rid the problem to an extent. I still hear it, but I may have been a bit misled - the sound may actually be cymbals. The pounding drums in "Forever Spoken" distract you from it. In fact, the drums are mixed so loud its funny. They do step down in time for the guitar work to shine, though. Following tracks run quite similar, but all have subtle differences, like how "Legacy Divine" slows down the drums but keeps the momentum moving, or how "Sea of Tranquility" adds symphonic metal elements such as a (piped-in) choir, and heavier keyboards. Frank Beck's vocals are very useful for power metal, as they're clean, smooth, and able to hold notes for nice stretches of chorus. The last couple tracks of the first part of the LP stack up sturdily amongst the line-up of songs. "Mystic Maze" opens with some synths that remind me of 80's pop rock. The track proves what it reminded me of, with a slower tempo and a cooler atmosphere. "No Hell for the Good" takes on more speed metal tones and pairs it with more symphonic elements.

The second half of this pretty-long-for-power-metal LP starts with the ballad "Trapped in Heaven." A track with a little more heart than the rest. I got some nice AOR vibes from it's message and attitude. The smooth guitars and simple drums made for a surprisingly nice listen. "Lost in Time" passes as just another power metal song. I'm afraid most of the remaining songs will do the same, due to my power metal fatigue. Hey - fifty-three minutes is a LOT of power metal in one sitting for anybody. "A Million Miles Away" is a bit more ballad-y, but still just another track, just like the self-titled "Power to the Past" and the closer, "Wrong Destiny." "Power to the Past" packs quite a punch, waking me up from the last couple songs. "Wrong Destiny" is speedy, but didn't capture my attention.

I think I'm power metal'd out for the year. "Power To The Past" is a big chunk of power metal with symphonic, speed, and heavy elements. The band is supported by Frank Beck's adequate-for-the-genre vocals, and the band plays good themselves. The entire album could've cut out some filler, as I got some listening fatigue over halfway in. They could've scrapped some of the songs, for sure. "Power To The Past" is fine, but a bit much. Also, no AI for album covers... it's just not creative, and a bit of a turn-off.