STORMCROW – No Fear Of Tomorrow

After a series of delays, No Fear Of Tomorrow, the full-length debut release from Sweden’s StormCrow, will hit stores in March 2006. Prior to this album, the band had recorded three demos, and a handful of songs from those releases have landed on the debut. With this 10-track (plus an unlisted, untitled bonus song) disc, StormCrow looks to take flight.

Unless you’ve heard the demos or listened to the sound clips on their website, odds are most people aren’t familiar with StormCrow’s sound. So what does the fivesome sound like, or more accurately, who do they sound like?

StormCrow plays a fairly upbeat style of Metal, sounding a bit like Helloween and maybe Gamma Ray in places. The songs are generally fast-moving and energetic, but not extremely heavy. There are some good riffs provided by the guitar duo of Anders Jonsson and Ulf Helander, and a few respectable, tasteful solos are scattered about the album too. The guitar work is good, but it won’t peel your paint.

Vocalist Anders Hjärtström is one of those singers that continually reminds you of another band’s singer, yet you won’t be able to figure out which one, no matter how hard you strain your brain. Hjärtström is a strong singer with good range, and he can hit the high notes. He adds some personality to the songs, most notably on the slower-paced “Down To The River,” one of the prime tunes on the album.

Keyboards play a role in StormCrow’s sound as well, but luckily they aren’t overused. In songs like the fast-moving instrumental “Chasing A Shadow,” the keyboards have an ‘old-school’ vibe in the vein of vintage Deep Purple. Keys don’t dominate No Fear Of Tomorrow‘s soundscape, but they’re used well.

Unless you detest tender acoustic ballads (the hidden track), there are no bad songs on No Fear Of Tomorrow, and a few of them, most notably “Million Miles,” “Down To The River,” “Borderline,” and “The Final Battle” are impressive. A small handful of tracks, like “The Grievous Story of Mary Grace” and the Helloween-ish “Dr. X In Wonderland” are kind of disposable, but still enjoyable.

No Fear Of Tomorrow is a solid album, but not an outstanding one. It’s well-written, well-played, and certainly isn’t boring, but some listeners may find it a little tame and derivative for their liking (StormCrow isn’t the most original band around).

StormCrow does, however, show promise with No Fear Of Tomorrow. These ‘Crows won’t murder the competition, but they prove themselves worthy of some attention.