METALIUM - review added 24th September 2009
Album Review: Grounded: Chapter Eight (2009)
For fans of: Power Metal... and getting better
Metalium are an enigma for me. Their debut release Millennium Metal was the best power metal album thus far by any band - songs like 'Dream Of Doom' and 'Metamorphosis' were incredible, almost genre defining. After that, however, it all went very slightly wrong.
The following 2 albums were, whilst not terrible, certainly not a patch on that debut. They each contained one or two decent songs backed up by a load of stodgy filler and, for me, that was it. I haven't bothered with another of their releases since.
The modern Metalium still features golden voiced Henning Basse on vocals and keyboards, Matthias Lange on guitar and Lars Ratz on bass. Michael Ehré on drums and Tolo Grimalt on guitar presently complete the line-up.
Their sound has evolved considerably, as indeed it should have in the ten years since their debut. You can still hear the influences of those first few albums, but the music is more mature, deeper and more measured.
The opening number, the imaginatively titled 'Heavy Metal' is a hell-for-leather noise-fest with plenty of attitude and fine guitar playing. It's not as exciting as it could have been - It doesn't pause for breath so ends up as a blur of drums, pinched harmonics and speed - but it still manages to hit the spot. 'Light Of Day' is better, if still not brilliant. When you have a band like Metalium who can, when they pull out all the stops, make a song so good it could stop the world rotating, even a good track can be a mild disappointment.
'Pay The Fee' is a fine track, whilst 'Pharos slavery' starts with some distinctly dodgy whipping effects that are funnier that I suspect they're supposed to be. The track itself is interesting but plodding - a bit like a giant tortoise with some erotic murals on it's shell. 'Crossroad Overload' is an average song saved by a monster chorus - the first truly big one on the album. It's heavy, powerful and devilishly catchy.
'Falling Into Darkness' is nearly there too. It isn't quite so memorable but the (f*cking) heavy approach pays dividends. The pumping 'Alone' is a good'un, but the real kudos is saved for the heavy ballad 'Borrowed Time'. It's one of those tracks you fall in love with the moment you hear it, a feeling reaffirmed by the epically stunning chorus. It's almost up there with 'Metamorphosis' on the Metalium ballad scale, and that's no small praise.
'Once Loyal' is power metal by numbers in the verses and hugely excellent in the chorus...so whether it's a good song or not is debatable. Final track 'Lonely' is splendid and closes the album with resounding style.
Grounded is something of a relief. It isn't up there with Metalium's best but is comfortably the 2nd greatest of their albums I've heard. I really wanted this release to blow me the hell away. Although it hasn't done that, I still leave impressed. It took a time to reveal it's true nature but, now it has, I'm glad I stuck it out. Good job boys :)
Check out... 'Borrowed Time'.
Track List:
1. Heavy Metal
2. Light Of Day
3. Pay The Fee
4. Pharos Slavery
5. Crossroad Overload
6. Falling Into Darkness
7. Alone
8. Borrowed Time
9. Once Loyal
10. Lonely
Label: Massacre Records
Artist's website(s): Metalium , MySpace
