FREEDOM CALL – Eternity

Time for typical German happy Metal again, a genre that Freedom Call with their third album is about to lead. The band, at first known as Gamma Ray drummer Dan Zimmermann’s side project, has in fact an original way of building their Speed Metal killers, something they had already on their first CD. The band have recruited Cede Dupont on guitars, and don’t ask me what happened with the former one, Sascha, but it seems to work out fine even now. The opener is nothing but a Metal classic, “Metal Invasion” is the best happy Metal song you’ll hear this year. It annoys me a little that Tobias Sammet sings backing vocals, as his tense vibrato ruins a bit of the fun, though. Someone close to him needs the balls to tell him that he should tone it down and act more naturally, not try to be something he’s not. He’s a damn good songwriter and front man though, but that doesn’t automatically make you a bloody good singer.

Anyway, this is a Freedom Call review, and I was supposed to talk about the songs. In general, the band has delivered an album with more diversity this time, and diehards will maybe claim that it is too soft and slow. Well, could be, but the melodies are so good that they could have been presented in any speed, they would still impress me. If you like your Angra a little more mainstream (I don’t really, but I can deal with that, too), and you’re a fan of Gamma Ray (a band that has gone from being the best happy Metal band to become a Judas Priest copy), and you simply dig breathtaking melodies delivered with speed and conviction, you can’t do much wrong getting to know Freedom Call.